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Raharimanana's works illuminate Bayreuth's city center during the summer
25.05.2023
Jean Luc Raharimanana, „Empreinte(s) de l’une“
Photographs by Jean Luc Raharimanana, who was invited to come to Bayreuth in May 2023 as a Cluster chronicler, will illuminate the windows of Iwalewahaus in the coming weeks.
The poet, musician and photographer Jean Luc Raharimanana from Madagascar has been accompanying the activities of the "Africa Multiple" Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth as a chronicler since May 1, 2023. While posting his impressions of Bayreuth and the Cluster of Excellence on his and the Cluster's social media, Raharimanana has also actively contributed to the Cluster's calendar of events during his stay in Bayreuth: On May 15, a concert reading took place at the Kulturhaus Neuneinhalb, which the Madagascan artist organized together with the Brazilian musician Alexandre Vieira, who is currently an artist fellow of the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies. Raharimanana also provided the musical accompaniment at this year's Swahili Colloquium, which took place May 18-20 at Iwalewahaus. Now, however, his photographs are coming into focus.
From May 24 to July 31 2023, the artist's photographs will be illuminated at night in the windows of Iwalewahaus in Bayreuth (Wölfelstraße 2). The exhibition, presented as part of the Iwalewahaus "inside/out" series, features a selection of 16 photographs Raharimanana took in Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoros. They are part of a larger exhibition titled "Trajectories - Travel Lines Across the Indian Ocean." Raharimanana's photographs are also always in dialogue with his poems and novels.
"We are very pleased that we could win this exceptional artist to accompany the activities of the Cluster of Excellence as Cluster Chronicler. We are even more pleased that the outdoor exhibition at the Iwalewahaus also brings the artist and parts of his work to the attention of the wider Bayreuth public," explains Prof. Dr. Ute Fendler, co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence "Africa Multiple" at the University of Bayreuth.
About the artist:
Jean Luc Raharimanana is a poet, novelist, playwright, and editor. As a committed artist, he attacks words, kneads their meaning until their musicality penetrates deep into the reader. In a lyrical and poetic style, despite the violent and tormented history of Madagascar, he is looking for relational stories, seeing all the beauty of our world.
The theater occupies a preponderant place in his career. He is the author of numerous plays and musical tales and brings his texts to the stage. In 2014, he founded the company SoaZara, bringing together playwrights, musicians, video artists and dancers.
He is also the director of the Fragments collection at Vents D'Ailleurs. He works as a lecturer and translator, and holds writing workshops with institutions and theaters on the francophone question. In September 2021, he co-founded with Nassuf Djailani the publishing house Project'Îles.
About the artist:
Jean Luc Raharimanana is a poet, novelist, playwright, and editor. As a committed artist, he attacks words, kneads their meaning until their musicality penetrates deep into the reader. In a lyrical and poetic style, despite the violent and tormented history of Madagascar, he is looking for relational stories, seeing all the beauty of our world.
The theater occupies a preponderant place in his career. He is the author of numerous plays and musical tales and brings his texts to the stage. In 2014, he founded the company SoaZara, bringing together playwrights, musicians, video artists and dancers.
He is also the director of the Fragments collection at Vents D'Ailleurs. He works as a lecturer and translator, and holds writing workshops with institutions and theaters on the francophone question. In September 2021, he co-founded with Nassuf Djailani the publishing house Project'Îles.