On the second weekend of September in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s transplanted sixteenth century Spanish Velez Blanco Patio, Faustin Linyekula revealed his very personal journey through the MET’s Kingdom of Kongo collection, which eventually led him back to his ancestral village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congolese choreographer and performance artist was invited to take part in the MET Live Arts program in collaboration with the French Institute Alliance Française as a part of the 2017 Crossing the Line Festival. Described by Frieze magazine as “quite possibly the most important artist working on the African continent today”, Linyekula is known for tackling the issues of political turmoil and the complex history of the Democratic Republic of Congo through a combination of storytelling and movement. In a world where museums are fighting to stay politically correct by silencing critics, Banataba shows that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is embracing dialogue through performance. Linyekula’s performance began with a projected video, a gathering of people singing and dancing that slowly evolved into boat motoring down a wide-mouthed river. As the video finished, Linyekula and his partner Moya Michael entered the patio, progressing across the floor with a bundle wrapped in twine. Linyekula sang the word “banataba” as they […]
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