Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC, CBC, F24...), writer (on art, music, culture...), I work in radio, podcasting, online, on films.
As a writer, I also contributed to the New Arab, Art UK, Byline Times, the i Paper...
Born in Paris, I was based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and in Bristol, UK. I also reported from Italy, Germany, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq, South Africa...
This blog is to share my work, news and cultural discoveries.
PJ Harvey "The Last Living Rose" (Let England Shake)
Goddamn' Europeans! Take me back to beautiful England & the grey, damp filthiness of ages, fog rolling down behind the mountains, & on the graveyards, and dead sea-captains.
Let me walk through the stinking alleys to the music of drunken beatings, past the Thames River, glistening like gold hastily sold for nothing.
Let me watch night fall on the river, the moon rise up and turn to silver, the sky move, the ocean shimmer, the hedge shake, the last livingrose quiver.
Bristol, capital of graffiti. Here's a reminder with two photographs taken by Beezer on Jamaica Street, near Stoke Croft in Saint Pauls' neighbourhood, Bristol's Caribbean hub then and now. This is why I keep on coming back, Bristol. You had it all by then. You're still thriving today. Looking forward.
3D painting The Day The Law Died on Jamaica Street around 1984-85:
Gravitas explored the continual and complex relationships between human and animal. The exhibition brought together large-scale, monochrome oil on canvas paintings by Abigail Reed and the life-sized fabric sculptures of Dorcas Casey.
Responding to the exhibition space, Antlers Gallery presented two female artists working in a large, bold manner in order to convey the power and weight of the animal form, in relation to human scale. In Abigail’s paintings the animals are bursting out of the canvases whilst Dorcas’ sculptures are awkwardly juxtaposed with seemingly fragile furniture. In both cases the animal subjects have a sense of stature but their relationship to human objects evokes an air of vulnerability.
Dorcas Casey uses a variety of materials including fabric, wire and found objects to create startling portrayals of animal forms. Her sculptures are inspired by the recurring motifs of animals which appear in her dreams – the familiar and comforting is merged with the menacing and unsettling. Impeccably fabricated portrayals of stags, pigs, and bulls are awkwardly placed in direct opposition to delicate antique furniture; they are suspended between strength and collapse, evoking the ambiguity of dream-like imagery.
Surrounding these sculptures were Abigail Reed’s immense oil paintings of: bulls, stags and horses. Standing strong and powerful within the canvas these works are almost sculptural in themselves and vying for the viewers attention. Her painting style is free and fluid; nothing is fixed as the dripping and cracking of the paint reveals the accidental, volatile and vulnerable nature of the medium and in turn life. Abigail sees her paintings as representations of ‘other’, something non-human which puts us in our place and stills our anxieties.
Policiers tunisiens à l'entrée du musée du Bardo, à Tunis, le 19 mars.REUTERS/Anis Mili
En Tunisie, le nouveau projet de loi de lutte antiterroriste du gouvernement tunisien inquiète les ONG de défense des droits humains. Le projet de loi de 2014 avait été mis de côté au moment des élections générales. Depuis l'attentat contre le musée du Bardo, les parlementaires entendent mener à bien un nouveau projet de loi pour renforcer la lutte antiterroriste.
Pour Human Rights Watch, ce texte autoriserait la garde à vue prolongée et affaiblirait les garanties judiciaires des personnes inculpées d’acte terroriste. Il lèverait également le moratoire sur la peine de mort, comme s’en inquiète Amna Guellali, chercheuse pour l'ONG à Tunis : « En Tunisie, il y a un moratoire sur la peine de mort. Donc les juges peuvent condamner les personnes à une peine de mort, mais cette peine n’est pas exécutée. Ce moratoire existe depuis 1991. Donc ici, la réintroduction de la peine de mort dans le nouveau projet peut donner lieu effectivement à une application de ces peines. Et ça peut représenter un recul par rapport à ce qui existait avant en Tunisie ».
Pour Amna Guellali, il est important que le Parlement garde à l'esprit que le débat sur le projet de loi doit rester rationnel et ne doit pas être influencé par l'émotion engendrée par les attentats : « Il est très important que le Parlement examine sereinement cette nouvelle loi et qu’il ne prenne pas des décisions hâtives, dictées par des questions politiques ou par la réactivité par rapport à l’événement parce que cela, finalement, ne serait que contreproductif et ne ferait qu’affaiblir encore plus la possibilité pour le système de lutter contre le crime terroriste ».
En Ouganda, plusieurs suspects ont été arrêtés dans le cadre de l'enquête sur l'assassinat de la procureure chargée du dossier d'attentats islamistes en 2010, le le 30 mars à Kampala. L'un des suspects est un ancien détenu de la prison américaine de Guantanamo.
L'endroit où la procureure Joan Kagezi a été tuée par des hommes à moto, le 31 mars 2015 dans la banlieue de Kampala.AFP PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
Les Etats-Unis ont participé à l'interpellation de plusieurs des suspects ; l'un est en effet un ancien détenu de Guantanamo.
La porte-parole du département d'Etat, Marie Harf a confirmé "que des membres du gouvernement américain ont apporté leur soutien à une opération de l'Ouganda qui a permis d'appréhender plusieurs individus soupçonnés d'être impliqués dans l'assassinat de la procureure". Elle a également précisé que l'ancien détenu de la prison de Guantanamo "avait été libéré en 2006".
Il s'agit de Jamal KIYEMBA, ancien résidant au Royaume-Uni de nationalité ougandaise, arrêté au Pakistan en 2002 pour lien supposé avec Al Qaeda puis transféré à la prison de Guatanamo. Il avait été libéré en 2006 sans être inculpé. Il avait alors été renvoyé en Ouganda.
Au moins six personnes ont été arrêtées ces derniers jours, selon les autorités ougandaises, deux femmes et quatre hommes.
Fin mars, la police ougandaise indiquait n'avoir encore arrêté aucun suspect et ne privilégier aucune piste dans l'assassinat de Joan Kagezi, directrice adjointe du ministère public ougandais.
Elle avait été tué par des hommes armés et à moto le 30 mars à Kiwatule alors qu'elle faisait des courses.
Cette n°2 du Parquet dirigeait les poursuites dans de nombreuses affaires criminelles d'importance, dont le dossier du double attentat du 11 juillet 2010 à Kampala qui avait fait 76 morts. Une attaque revendiquée par mes islamistes somaliens al shebab.
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Le procès lié à cet attentat avait commencé le 17 mars dernier à Kampala et impliquait 13 accusés : sept Kényans, cinq Ougandais et un Tanzanien, poursuivis pour de nombreux chefs d'inculpation, dont ceux de terrorisme et de meurtres.
Il devait reprendre le 31 mars mais après le meurtre de la procureure, il a été reporté sine die.
1:54 NY Contemporary African Art Fair Reveals Lineup Of 70+ Artists
What do you think?
London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair is crossing the Atlantic next month for its US debut during New York’s Frieze Week. Dubbed 1:54 NY, this satellite edition of the growing art gathering will set up shop at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works from May 15-17. Yesterday, 1:54’s creator and director Touria El Glaoui revealed the lineup of artists and galleries exhibiting at the New York presentation. “Contemporary African art is continuing its rise to the fore as it is granted the attention it duly deserved,” El Glaoui said about expanding the fair. “In light of this, it seems only right that 1:54 would spread its wings to land in New York, where established and emerging African artists and artists of the African Diaspora are leading a burgeoning contemporary art scene that communicates across international geographies. The New York edition will retain the intimacy and charm that the setting of London’s Somerset House has made possible, and as always, will showcase the highest caliber of art to date, in an unrivaled setting.”
What do you think?
1:54 NY’s participating galleries, which come from Abidjan, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, London, Marrakech, Milan and Paris, will feature works from 70+ African artists, including Gabonese painter Boris Nzebo, British-Nigerian draftswoman ruby onyinyechi amanze, legendary Malian portrait photographers Malick Sidibé andSeydou Keita, Senegalese fashion and fine arts photographer Omar Victor Diop, Kenyan visual artist Jim Chuchu, Beninese mixed-media artist Romuald Hazoumè, iconic Nigerian photographer J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Mozambican sculptor Gonçalo Mabunda, Belgian-Beninese photographer Fabrice Monteiro, and Tunisian artist and researcher Nidhal Chamekh, among others. For more on the upcoming 1:54 NY fair head to their official website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and see below for the full list of participating exhibitors and artists.
What do you think?
1:54 NY Selected Exhibitors
What do you think?
A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia / Afronova, Johannesburg / Art Twenty One, Lagos / ARTCO Gallery, Aachen / Axis Gallery, New York / Bennett Contemporary, Cape Town / CIRCA Gallery, Johannesburg / Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan / Jack Bell Gallery, London / Magnin-A, Paris / Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Seattle / NOMAD Gallery, Brussels / Primo Marella Gallery, Milan / SMAC Gallery, Cape Town / VOICE Gallery, Marrakech
1:54 NY Selected Artists
What do you think?
Aboudia Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou Leila Alaoui ruby onyinyechi amanze Olu Amoda Joël Andrianomearisoa Younes Baba-Ali Sammy Baloji Steve Bandoma Wayne Barker Rim Battal Daniel Blom Conrad Botes Armand Boua Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Nathalie Boutté Edson Chagas Nidhal Chamekh Jim Chuchu Soly Cissé Bruce Clarke Peter Clarke Barend de Wet Calixte Dakpogan Omar Victor Diop Bright Ugochukwu Eke Theo Eshetu François-Xavier Gbré John Goba Maïmouna Guerresi Romuald Hazoumè Ayana V. Jackson Seydou Keïta Lebohang Kganye Abdoulaye Konaté Lawrence Lemaoana Toyin Loye Gonçalo Mabunda Ibrahim Mahama Abu Bakarr Mansaray Megumi Matsubara Vincent Michéa Jean-Paul Mika Bobson Sukhdeo Mohanlall Shula Monsengo Fabrice Monteiro Jean-Claude Moschetti Richard Mudariki Lavar Munroe Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo Cheikh Ndiaye Boris Nzebo J.D.’Okhai Ojeikere Gérard Quenum Chéri Samba Amadou Sanogo Kura Shomali Malick Sidibé Ransome Stanley Pathy Tshindele Eric van Hove Billie Zangewa Asha Zero
The insider's cultural guide to Nairobi: Tusker beer, urban slang and 'writivism'
From Lupita Nyong’o street art to occupied playgrounds and poking fun at socialites, let Josephine Opar guide you round Kenya’s capital
Nairobi culture in five words
Beeps from security wands and metal detector machines are the norm in Nairobi, because of the compulsory security checks at every major building, mall, event locations and some buses in the city. In short, security checks are everywhere. Individuals are required to put their bags and phones in trays while they walk through the metal detector machine and in some places security guards also frisk people.
Everyone’s tuning into …
The Trend, NTV’s hit show, chats with popular and polarising personalities that people in Kenya are talking about on Twitter: from pop stars to skin-bleaching socialites.
The look on the street
Nairobians are all about mixing local and international trends. Local accessories are popular, while clothes are often sourced from markets (mtumba), or from vendors who select pieces from overseas. Designers and tailors are increasingly becoming a popular choice for producing original attire.
Kuona Trust is a vibrant and accessible arts space in the Hurlingham district of the city. It’s a great place for discovering local painters, glass artists, visual artists, sculptors and photographers, who showcase their work there at regular exhibitions and installations, events, workshops and community outreach programmes.
Kuona markets many Nairobi-based artists. Recently, director Sylvia Gichia spoke out about the Venice Biennale scandal, which sees Chinese and Italian artists representing Kenya instead of local artists, for the second time.
What’s the big talking point?
Digital migration – three leading private TV stations operating on analogue platforms were switched off for three weeks in February for failing to migrate to digital. The conflict caused Kenyans on social media to swap memes making fun of the situation. Now that all the stations are back on air, Kenyans are required to purchase set-top boxes to watch local channels, unless they already have satellite TV.
Fena is a solo singer-songwriter whose take on the urban-soul genre is swaggy and relatable. She is proudly African, from her dreads to her lyrics she stands out as a positive, “fena-menal” woman. The artist recently shared a stage with the legendary South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
What Nairobi does better than anyone else …
Tusker beer is made in Nairobi, and is popular with Kenyans and tourists alike. Locals often drink it with nyama choma (barbecued meat). Now that police are on the look-out for drunk drivers, Kenyans are doing their best to enjoy their alcoholic beverages responsibly and avoid failing the “alco-blow” tests.
Westmoreland House (left) opened in 1966, while the Carriageworks was built in 1862
A derelict listed building at risk of being lost could finally be redeveloped, but hundreds of people have objected to the plans that will be debated later.
Developing the Carriageworks would provide much-needed housing in Bristol and rid the Stokes Croft community of an "eyesore". But, would it destroy the soul of an area famed for street art by the likes of Banksy?
"He's arguably the most significant artist ever to come out of Bristol," says Chris Chalkley, chairman of community group the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC).
"That building, which was the first carriage showroom anywhere, deserves better than to be turned into luxury flats."
Mr Chalkley is not talking about artist Banksy, who painted his famed mural The Mild Mild West further along Stokes Croft.
He is talking about architect EW Godwin, who built the Grade II* listed Carriageworks in 1862, for horse carriage manufacturers John Perry and Sons.
The Mild Mild West, on Stokes Croft, is one of the most loved and known Banksy artworks in Bristol
But, both buildings have been empty for three decades, and their deterioration largely contributed to English Heritage classifying the entire Stokes Croft Conservation Area as "at risk".
Now, a planning application for Westmoreland House to be demolished and for the Carriageworks to be turned into 118 flats has been recommended for approval at a Bristol City Council meeting later.
The report for the council's planning committee also acknowledges 1361 objections from the public, while there have been just 21 responses in support.
Many people, including the PRSC, fear the gentrification of the area.
"If this development goes ahead it will irrevocably change the nature of the area," said Mr Chalkley.
"Stokes Croft is an area that's always had an independent spirit. It's an area that's become a beacon of alternative thinking."
He remembers Stokes Croft being "shunned" through decades of neglect by people in power, but says the community turned the area around for itself.
People now come from all over the world to see the street art and experience being in an "outdoor gallery", he says.
"We now find ourselves where after 30 years of dereliction, and the community having developed within that, all of that can be swept away because some developers from elsewhere deem that might be a good thing," says Mr Chalkley.
"In 2011, this community had Tesco forced upon it and we saw what happened."
A protest march is also planned against the Carriageworks development, to coincide with the council meeting.
English Heritage, which has since been succeeded by Historic England, has backed the council in support of the application.
The site has been on the Heritage At Risk Register since 1998, and is one of Historic England's risk priority sites in the South West.
In his letter to the council Simon Ramsden, principal inspector of historic buildings and areas, said he hoped the proposals "can be delivered in the near future in order to prevent any further damage" to the important building.
The Carriageworks Action Group (CAG), an alliance of residents and businesses, agrees the building needs developing, but says the proposals are not good enough.
"What's proposed is bland, boring and a pastiche, what you would find in any boring high street in any clone town in the country," says Lori Streich, who chairs the group.
The group wants an "innovative and interesting design" that befits the "iconic and fantastic" design of the Carriageworks.
CAG, supported by the council, had been working on its own proposals with a housing association called Knightstone, but these were put on hold following the planning application by Fifth Capital London.
The community had wanted a mix of affordable housing and units for small businesses.
"What we want and what the community desperately needs is affordable housing, and the Fifth Capital proposals are for only eight out of 118 to be affordable," says Ms Streich.
The city's mayor, George Ferguson, says the council remains "committed to the regeneration of this eyesore site", and will continue to consider options for a compulsory purchase order should the owner either fail to secure planning consent or to develop the site.
Bristol Civic Society supported the work of CAG and Knightstone, but also supports the current planning application.
It has wanted the Carriageworks to be developed for years, although it has opposed all previous planning applications.
"The current application is a pretty attractive one," says chairman Simon Birch.
"The quality of the architecture is good and if it gets built in the way that is proposed it will look fantastic."
He believes the 1960s building is "a horror" and welcomes its demolition.
Fifth Capital London director Marc Pennick sounds surprised by the opposition he has encountered in Bristol.
"People say they want investment but it seems that certain factions of the area don't want change," he says.
Fifth Capital London does not own the property, but Mr Pennick says he has agreed to buy it from Comer Homes if planning permission is given.
He likes the Carriageworks because it is a listed building, and he sees it as "a great opportunity to put something back into the area".
Mr Pennick estimates between £15m and £20m is needed to develop it, and the only way to raise this "serious amount of money" is by building and selling flats.
The decision is now in the hands of councillors, but Mr Pennick says he will "find a way forward" even if they refuse permission.
"I've started this," he says. "I'm not going to stop."
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My pictures from Stokes Croft, taken in February 2015:
Banksy's famous "Mild Mild West" at the Hamilton House on Stokes Croft:
Policiers tunisiens à l'entrée du musée du Bardo, à Tunis, le 19 mars.REUTERS/Anis Mili
L'endroit où la procureure Joan Kagezi a été tuée par des hommes à moto, le 31 mars 2015 dans la banlieue de Kampala.AFP PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
