Yaay Dund - Regenerating Life

Exhibition-event · Dak'Art Biennale 2024

Yaay Dund

Regenerating Life

An exhibition-event carried by DyTAES around the photographs of Raphaël Belmin, presented at the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine. The ARTS project, which I co-direct, contributed with a photo competition and a programme of art-science-society encounters.

Dates

13 Nov - 8 Dec

2024 · Dak'Art Biennale

Venue

Renaissance Africaine

Monument, Dakar - Senegal

Carried by

DyTAES

Photos by Raphaël Belmin (CIRAD)

My contribution

ARTS programme

Photo competition + activities

Yaay Dund is the Wolof translation for the concept of "mother nourisher".

The exhibition explores the deep links between art, science and society in the African agroecological landscape. Through Raphaël Belmin's photographic work and a rich programme of encounters - feminist roundtables, forum theatre, ciné-débat, participatory tours - it celebrates the women whose daily care feeds families, sustains ecosystems and carries forward agroecological knowledge.

The exhibition

Carried by DyTAES, around the photographs of Raphaël Belmin

Yaay Dund, Régénérer le vivant is an exhibition-event carried by DyTAES (Dynamique pour une Transition Agroécologique au Sénégal) and presented in the context of the Dak'Art Biennale of Contemporary African Art 2024.

At its heart, the photographs of Raphaël Belmin, agronomist and photographer at CIRAD, whose images plunge into Senegalese food systems and reveal the diversity of roles - particularly women's - in the living chain.

Photographer & coordinator: Raphaël Belmin (CIRAD) · Curator: Marie Thouvenot · Scenography: Myrtille Fakhreddine

Official poster of the Yaay Dund - Régénérer le vivant exhibition, 13 Nov - 8 Dec 2024, Monument de la Renaissance Africaine, Dakar
Official poster · DyTAES, 2024

My contribution · through the ARTS project

A photo competition and a programme of encounters

As co-director of the ARTS project (Agroecology for Resilient Territories in Senegal), I contributed to the Yaay Dund exhibition with two strands: a national photo competition opened to amateur and professional photographers in Senegal, and a programme of art-science-society encounters drawing on the project's research and partnerships.

Strand 1 · Photo competition

Three prizes, three perspectives

Photograph by Marie Bop - women in Sine Saloum (portrait)
Photograph by Marie Bop - market journey
Photograph by Marie Bop - rice cultivation

Grand Jury Prize · Documentary series

Marie Bop

A documentary series following women in the Sine Saloum region - literacy instruction, market journeys, rice cultivation.

Photograph by Elimane Diao - 'A special moment in a woman's life'

Public Choice Prize

Elimane Diao

"A rather special moment in a woman's life" - pregnancy and childbirth, documenting sacrifice and courage.

Photograph by Yolenn Flaux - female farmers practicing agroecology in Casamance

Youth Photographer Prize

Yolenn Flaux

Female farmers practicing agroecology at GIE Batine Bah - Thionck Essyl, Casamance, April 2024.

Strand 2 · Activities programme

Art, science and society in dialogue

Over three days at the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine, the ARTS project programmed encounters that combined photography, video, forum theatre and roundtable dialogue around feminist agroecology.

  • Nov 25 - Inna by Melokaan theatre company

    Forum-theatre piece on gender-based injustices in rural contexts. Followed by a public discussion with feminist geographer Lise Landrin.

  • Nov 26 - A Feminist Agroecology? roundtable

    With Marie Thérèse Daba Sène, Laiti Ndiaye, Patrick Bottazzi and Lise Landrin, moderated by journalist Yunuça Gueye.

  • Nov 27 - Participatory programme

    Public speeches, ciné-débat and performative counter-guided tours.

Alongside the ARTS contribution, the wider exhibition included The Jambaars of Agroecology, a video series documenting individuals navigating agroecological transitions in Senegal.

Read more

On feminist agroecology, art and science