Sammy Baloji
Missa Utica
septembersept 27 – 28
Friday september 27
19h
Saturday september 28
18h
Research, idea and direction Sammy Baloji. Text Fiston Mwanza Mujila. Performance Bwanga Pilipili. Musical composition and interpretation Pytshens Kambilo and Barbara Drazkov. Production Estelle Lecaille and Marek Szponik. Sound technician Francoise Pierre. Costumes Samira Benali. Carpet design Silvana De Bari.
Production Twenty Nine Studio & Production
Coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts ; Festival DreamCity ; KANAL Centre Pompidou ; Museo delle Civilta
With the support of the Federation Wallonie Bruxelles, of Wevioo and of Focus
La Commune, centre dramatique national d’Aubervilliers and The Festival d’Automne à Paris present this Carte Blanche in co-production.
The first black bishop appointed by the Catholic Church should have settled in Utica, Tunisia, but never did. His story is the starting point for Sammy Baloji's work.
Missa Utica retraces his journey during the 15th century, against the backdrop of the Kongo kingdom and the evangelisation of Africa. We witness the first diplomatic contacts and interactions, alliances and misalliances. The strategic stakes of the colonies and slavery unfold before our eyes, showing how Africa's colonial past collides with today's political and economic realities. The form of the story is inspired by the Missa Luba, a Latin mass using traditional Congolese songs. Composed by a twentieth-century Belgian missionary, it is reinterpreted by Barbara Drazkov and Pytshens Kambilo in a dialogue between European classical music and Congolese rumba, alongside performer Bwanga Pilipili. On a large carpet woven in Tunisia, Baloji's installation reveals disparate territories and narratives across pre- and post-colonial eras, finally reconnected and intertwined.