The Parc de la Villete in Paris is the site for Kréyol Factory, an art exhibit that ponders what it means to be Creole in the 21st century. The exhibit, which opened on april 7th, will close on July 5th. It includes works by over sixty artists from the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and from their European and American diasporas. It is inspired by the work of Jamaican-born cultural theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall, especially his notion of the « three presences »–African, European, and New World-that constitute African-Caribbean identity. It sees Creole identity as stemming from the tragedy of the slave trade, slavery, and colonization-and from the cultural and racial métissage that grew out of it. «Creole worlds were born of violence and plunder, of the disappearance of some-the Amerindians-and of the forced coming together of peoples who had ben separated by an ocean, » Yolande Bacot, curator of the exhibit, explains. The works on view include art installations, paintings, literary texts, photographs, and documentary films.
For more information on the exhibit go to:
Kreyol factory
Parc de la Vilette
Pictures of the opening