“Women’s expression through art”
Following a request from the association Cultureplus Niger, for a common response to a request from the Institut Français for projects combining cultural and development actions, AECIN accepted a joint action with Muryar Mata/Women’s Voices: an original training program, aimed at young women and initiated by a Nigerien association. Its goal is to allow young women from the Dosso region to express their yearning for art through an artistic project.
Their request was granted by the Culture Access Program, supported by the Institut Français and the French Development Agency. The Niger Cultureplus association organizes, with support from AECIN Tarbiyya Tatali, a photography training workshop including its internet use (social networks, blogs, internet sites), aimed at women.
A request for candidates, open to all women from 15 to 35 living in Niger and native from the Dosso area, was launched at the end of 2020, so as to select 15 laureates.
The selection is based on a photo taken by mobile phone, with a legend and statement of intention explaining their motivation for joining the workshop, and the urgency of women’s appropriation of speech.
The winners will join two one-week workshops on photography and social network training. In the first part of the training, they will discover the techniques to be used, then, they will return to their social environment to take photos, and will again join the workshop to select and put forward their work.
They will later take part in the Muryar Mata Women’s Festival in Dosso where their photos will be exhibited.
Training session
On december 17th 2020 the social network and photography training session started. Out of the 15 successful candidates, 13 were present, and showed enthusiasm throughout the course . They have been granted a telephone with optical quality allowing good photography.
Following the training, an exhibition was produced.
Exhibition in Dosso
The 13 winners of the Muryar Mata Project exhibited their works in Dosso from February 2nd to 5th. Owing to the COVID restrictions, the attendance wasn’t as numerous as expected.
Exhibition in Rennes
Tarbiyya Tatali shows their work on its website and facebook site, thus offering them international scope.
Unfortunately, the exhibition planned at the Rennes International Center from March 6th to the 20th couldn’t be shown, but a virtual varnishing day was organized.,
In 2023, the exhibition will finally take place at the Maison Internationale de Rennes from March 13 to 26 as part of Rennes Métrople’s In(di)visibles campaign around International Women’s Rights Day.
Other locations
The exhibition was hosted at the Center Culturel Franco Nigérien Jean Rouch in Niamey in May 2021, as well as in Garankedey, in the Dosso region, on the occasion of Nigerien Women’s Day. In March 2022, it was exhibited in Marestaing in Occitanie, as well as in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.F rom August 5 to 7, 2022 i was s exhibited in Foix as part of the Festival Ingénieuse Afrique.