Deriva Afetiva: Dakar: Instituto Inclusartiz, Rio de Janeiro

On a journey in search of her African ancestry, visual artist Panmela Castro, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, spent a month in Dakar, Senegal, where she participated in the prestigious Black Rock artistic residency by renowned artist Kehinde Wiley, author of the famous portrait of Obama exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Upon her return, along with the memories and lessons from one of the greatest experiences of her life, Panmela brought with her numerous artworks that she will present to the public for the first time in the exhibition "Deriva Afetiva: Dakar" (Affective Drift: Dakar) at Espaço Inclusartiz in Rio, starting on August 19th.

The visual artist was the second Brazilian selected for the program. Prior to her, only Rafael RG (SP) participated in 2019. The residency is aimed at visual artists, writers, and filmmakers whose work relates to Africa. It was created with the mission of supporting new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and inciting a change in the global speech about what Africa means today.

In the exhibition, the public will be able to see a series of 10 portraits (one of her specialties) of local people who posed for the artist, including Kehinde himself, with whom Panmela had the opportunity to intimately interact during her stay. According to Panmela, her work bears similarities to that of the artist. Besides the theme (Africa, diaspora), when portraying someone, both artists are concerned with placing their subjects in a dignified position, creating a different image for those who were previously ignored. "I believe that dignity also speaks to identity, and that's why I always name the paintings with the full name of the subject, and I like the painting to have eyes, mouth, a well-defined face that identifies who they are. After all, Black people, women, and trans individuals have been erased for a long time," she says.

In addition to the paintings, Panmela also created an installation of 50 mirrors with portraits of African women, such as Al Kahina, Anne ZINGHA, Kimqa VITA, Iyoda IDIA, Ranavalona III, Margaret Affiong EKPO, among others, whom she met during a visit to the Museum of Black Civilizations. "I did a reinterpretation of a local tradition of painting on glass, but on mirrors," she explains.

Inspired by the life stories of these women and reaffirming her role as a social activist, with extensive experience in art programs related to women's rights in Brazil, on August 26th, Panmela included in the schedule the screening of the film "Graffiti for the End of Domestic Violence," followed by a drawing and painting workshop. The film, produced by NAMI Network, an organization founded by the artist that uses art to promote rights, aims to promote an end to gender-based violence and inform women about their rights.

The immersion in African culture also resulted in a clothing collection, including dresses, turbans, pants and blouse sets, designed by Panmela and sewn by the famous local tailor, Mr. Mamadou Faye. "I bought the fabrics and created traditional African models with a contemporary touch of Brazilian fashion," says Panmela. The pieces, with various African-inspired prints, will also be exhibited in the exhibition, which also includes a documentary with the artist's testimonies about each artwork.

To complete the program, the audience will be able to see a series of photos capturing moments from the residency and the journey. During her diaspora exploration, Panmela was able to see and experience both sides of Africa: the luxurious and profound Africa versus the villages and native communities. In her wanderings, the artist visited Gore Island, where the so-called "Door of No Return" exists, through which enslaved people passed and never returned, and she also visited Casamance in Seliky, where she had a conversation with the king of the Oussouye community about Brazil. "I asked him how I, as an artist, could contribute to stop the black genocide in Brazil. He told me to act peacefully, with faith, and to do work that could pave the way for Brazilian youth," she reveals.