For its 2025 edition, Culturescapes will stay in the Sahara, thus expanding its focus over the two consecutive editions for the first time in its 22-year history. The reasons for this are manifold. The expansion of the Sahara, which has reshaped its biological and cultural ecosystem, and the expanding presence of African cultures and voices in the global dialogue are just a few.
African artists, philosophers, and elders see the Saharan desert as simultaneously a non-conventional metaphysical space that assumes a transcendental nature (Ibrahim Al-Koni) and a geo-cultural space where Africa can reconcile with its history and overcome the colonial divide embodied in this desert (Benaouda Lebdai).
The 18th edition of Culturescapes will follow the flows of sands, dwellers, ecosystems, and rhythms in and around the Sahara to trace how knowledge hierarchies have been constructed and maintained and how to effectively dismantle and unlearn them in Africa and Europe (and beyond).
The four flows Culturescapes suggest to follow are:
Languages and Messages. Embracing the diversity of languages and voices spoken in and around the Sahara requires sensitivity and openness. Debating their existence next to the colonial languages still dominating the space and often competing or clashing with each other takes courage. What messages does this choir of languages bring?
Women of Wisdom. Healers and rebels, keepers of traditional knowledge and climate justice fighters, community balance keepers and revolutionary thinkers and artists, women in and around the Sahara undermine hierarchies and inequalities and strive to restore and redefine social balances, cohesion, and justice. The caring wisdom forged by female voices gives shape to the invisible and agency to the forgotten.
Sources and Resources. The Sahara is barren of specific vital resources, like water, but rich in others, such as minerals like phosphorus, copper, or uranium. Instead of violence and exhaustion of lands and people, the richness can bring stability and growth and help overcome shortages. To get there, the resources must be perceived and treated as sources of life and peace.
Rhythms and Movements. The Sahara is all about rhythms. The circadian rhythms of the desert dwellers sync with the rhythms of daybreaks and sunsets. The rhythms of the winds set the indigenous peoples of the desert into motion. The rhythms of global inequalities move people across the desert. The rhythms of music ease the breathing and give hope. Can we hear a different rhythm and beat for the Sahara?
The curatorial statement will be revealed early in 2025.
