Paris Goutte d’Or HQ : Zone Franche

From 3 February to 1 August 2021, the Institut des Cultures d’Islam (ICI) presents, in partnership with Think Tanger and Doual’art, the “Zone Franche” (Free Zone) exhibition as part of the Africa2020 Season.

“Zone Franche” is a shared adventure arising from the encounter between three artistic structures based in Cameroon, Morocco and France, and driven by the same desire to interact with the urban ecosystems that gave birth to them. Using the testimonies of many local creators and experts, Doual’art, Think Tanger and the ICI designed an exhibition in the form of a standalone poetic and symbolic space. Representing the very opposite of an enclave – which this term normally embodies – Free Zone explores the movement of travelers, goods and imaginary worlds beyond the physical or invisible borders.

With this exhibition, the ICI represents the Headquarters of the Africa2020 Season. On this occasion, the Institut will host a six-month-long exhibition and a multidisciplinary programme in the spirit of a small, temporary pan-African cultural center.

Some fifty concerts, live shows, films, conferences, tales, movies & snacks, activities for young audiences, hands-on artistic workshops and theme tours of the Goutte d’Or neighborhood showcase artists from Africa and their vision of the world.

And as of February, the Table Ouverte restaurant will offer homemade cuisine featuring flavors of the Maghreb and a temporary, music bar will liven up the sunlit patio of the ICI from the month of May. 

Project participants: 

Mariam Abouzid Souali (Morocco), Mohamed Arejdal (Morocco), Malala Andrialavidrazana (Madagascar / France), Sabrina Belouaar (France - Algerian diaspora), Mansour Ciss (Senegal), Saïdou Dicko (Burkina Faso), Hicham Gardaf (Morocco), Chourouk Hriech (France - Moroccan diaspora), Smaïl Kanouté (France - Malian diaspora), Le Cercle Kapsiki (Cameroon), Salifou Lindou (Cameroon), Randa Maroufi (Morocco), Jean David Nkot (Cameroon), Fatiha Zemmouri (Morocco)

Co-curator: Bérénice Saliou - Institut des Cultures d'Islam (France)

Co-curator: Princesse Marilyn Douala Manga Bell – Doual’art (Cameroon) 

Founded in 1991 by Princess Marilyn Douala Bell and Didier Schaub as a not-for-profit association, Doual’art is a centre for contemporary art. The center is designed to support contemporary artistic production in Cameroon using exhibitions, workshops and seminars, and to contribute, through a participatory approach, to the development of a cultural identity and collective awareness of aesthetics amongst the people of Douala.

-› Their website

Co-curator: Hicham Bouzid et Amina Mourid – Think Tanger (Morocco)

Think Tanger is a cultural platform which explores and experiments with the many social and spatial challenges posed by the urbanisation of the city of Tangier, using programmes which cut across several sectors: visual arts, design, graphic design, participatory research and urban practices. Think Tanger’s activities consist of, amongst other things, urban laboratories, participatory workshops, walkscapes, artist residencies, exhibitions, encounters, podcasts, publications, etc.

-› Their website

About the Institut des Cultures d'Islam (ICI) 

As a cultural institution of the City of Paris, the ICI’s mission is to showcase the many diverse contemporary cultures of Islam by organising exhibitions, concerts, conferences, screenings and debates, workshops, and by offering special activities to young audiences. From Africa to Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and all the way to America and Australia, these cultures are varied and inspire artists, regardless of their origins, ties, beliefs or nationality.