ArtBakery is an art centre based in the village of Bonendale a few kilometers from

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the comm ...

and founded by

Goddy Leye Goddy Leye (24 November 1965 in Mbouda, Cameroon – 19 February 2011 in Bonendale, Cameroon) was a Cameroonian artist and intellectual. His work is focused on videos, installations, conceptual art and theoretical contributions. He is the f ...

. The centre offers trainings for emerging artists (Master Class), journalists (Art Daily) and residency programs for young artists (Portfolio). ArtBakery is specifically designed to technically support the production of multimedia artworks, video and digital art.

History

ArtBakery is founded in 2002 after the artist

moves back to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The centre is part of the

Rijksakademie The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school support ...

International Network (RAIN), a network of artists who support contemporary cultural practices in their countries of origin. RAIN supports ArtBakery and its first project
Bessengue City
'.

Activities

Bessengue City

''Bessengue City'' is a project designed and coordinated by

and organised in Bessengue

in October 2002. The project involved the artists James Beckett,

, Hartanto, Jesus Palomino and the local community and it was produced with the support of

Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and by the programme R.A.I.N. Rain Artists’ Initiative Network. James Beckett produces in the neighbourhood of Bessengue an experimental radio, with a range of one kilometre and the collaboration of a group of young people which made interviews and recordings. The radio was called ''Radio Bessengue City'', or ''Dikalo la Bessengue'' (the messenger of Bessengue) becomes, as one listener said, “the radio of the people by the people”. File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 33.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 32.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 09.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 08.jpg Jesus Palomino creates a shelter using locally available materials. File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 40.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 31.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 41.jpg Goddy Leye takes pictures of twenty smiling people from the neighbourhood and makes some digital manipulation. The portraits are printed and arranged in random groups and positioned as posters in the estate. Produced from the same footage, the 6-minute video called ''Bouquet de Sourires'' (Bouquet of Smiles), is shown in the neighbourhood. File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 17.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 06.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 07.jpg File:Bessengue City Douala Sandrine Dole 05.jpg Hartanto builds the website of the project and he connects one person from Bessengue with another from

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth mos ...

. The messages, written in French (Bessengue) and Indonesian (Bandung), are scanned and sent with their translation in both directions. News on everyday life and the local environment are exchanged on a daily basis.

Exit Tour

''Exit Tour -

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, Accra,

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger River ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

'' is a collaborative artistic project organised in 2006. In occasion of Dak'art 2006, seven artists ( Ginette Daleu,

Justine Gaga Justine may refer to: People * Jean-Lou Justine (born 1955), male French scientist * Saint Justine of Padua (died 304), a Christian martyr * Justine Bateman (born 1966), American film actress * Justine Clarke (born 1971), Australian actress * ...

Dunja Herzog Dunja ( sr-cyr, Дуња) is a Serbo-Croatian feminine given name which is in fact homonymous with the vocabulary word for "quince." It derives from the Russian pet form of the Greek name Evdokia. It is a popular name in Serbia, Croatia, and B ...

, Lucfosther Diop, Achillekà Komguem, Alioum Moussa and

) departed from Douala and reached Dakar using only public transportation. During the three-months journey, the artists visited galleries, artists and participated to workshops in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, Accra,

Other activities

* Poetry Festival 3v, 2009.A video on the Poetry Festival 3v
2009

History

Activities

Bessengue City

Exit Tour

Other activities

See also

References

Further reading