Free
About the panel
Inhabited by the double consciousness of being a Black artist in a predominantly white art scene, the man who has been called the “Black Picasso” was ambivalent about the political dimension of his work. He preferred to focus on gaining recognition for his artistic talent beyond the social categories often constructed by stereotypes. But his works, which depict many important figures of Black history, take a resolutely critical view of racism that carries echoes of the emergent hip-hop culture of the same time period.
The story of Jean Michel Basquiat gives us an opportunity to explore questions related to the political responsibilities with which we tend to burden artists of African origin today. Is it necessary for these artists to create overtly political artworks? What lies beneath the inevitably political interpretations of the work of Black artists? In what ways are the commitments of these artists manifested today?
Philippe Néméh-Nombré
Philippe Néméh-Nombré is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University. He earned a PhD in Sociology from Université de Montréal in 2022. His research focuses on the potential links between Black and Indigenous emancipatory perspectives, critical methodologies, and Black ecologies. He is also a member of the board of directors and vice-president of the Ligue des droits et libertés and a member of the editorial board of the journal Liberté.
Philippe Racine
A versatile actor/creator and graduate of the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal, Philippe Racine boasts an impressive combination of talent and experience as an actor (Nyotaimori, L'Énéïde, Contre la Suite du Monde, TRIP), playwright (Toutou Rien, Lequel est un Basquiat and intervention theatre texts), director (Qui Veut la Peau d'Antigone, M'appelle Mohammed Ali), company director (Qui Va Là, Théâtre de la Sentinelle), puppeteer (Philémon et Baucis, Baobab), dubber (Diggstown, Transplanté, Loki, etc.), and composer, teacher and theatre mediator.
Eve Tagny
Eve Tagny is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based artist. Her practice considers gardens and disrupted landscapes as mutable sites of personal and collective memory – inscribed in dynamics of power, colonial histories and their legacies. Weaving lens-based mediums, installation, text and performance, she explores spiritual and embodied expressions of grief and resiliency, in correlation with nature’s rhythms, cycles and materiality.
Laura Doyle Péan
A queer activist, poet, and multidisciplinary artist of Haitian-Quebec origin, Laura Doyle Péan (they/them) studies law and gender studies and is interested in the relationship between art and activism. Since 2019, Laura has been an activist in the fossil fuel divestment movement. They also teach workshops in anti-oppression and are co-coordinator of the anti-racist group Collective 1629. Laura published their first book, Coeur Yoyo, in 2020, and they have participated in numerous artistic productions with the queer feminist collective Les Allumeuses, as well as with Espace de la Diversité. The English translation of their book, Yo-yo Heart, was released in the fall by the87press.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Location: To access the event, please enter through the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, located at 2075 Bishop Street.
