PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE
Dambudzo
ARTIST: nora chipaumire
105 min | Age Rating: 12+
14 and 15/3, Friday and Saturday, 7pm
16/3, Sunday, 6pm
18 and 19/3, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7pm
PLACE: Sesc Pompeia (Galpão)
SYNOPSIS
Combining sound, painting, sculpture, and performativity, the artist from Zimbabwe nora chipaumire continues her research into the dissonance between knowledge and language, exploring the revolutionary potential of performance while confronting colonial legacies. The installation draws inspiration from the literal and philosophical meanings of the word dambudzo—in Shona, a Bantu language—and evokes ideas from African thinkers like Dambudzo Marechera (1952–1987). The audience is invited to follow multiple actions throughout a space that recreates the atmosphere of Zimbabwean shebeens, informal home-based bars where possibilities for resistance and insurrection are imagined against political powers.
BACKGROUND
nora chipaumire was born in 1965 in what was then Umtali, Rhodesia (now Mutare, Zimbabwe). She is a product of the colonial education system for native Black Africans, known as “Group B schools.” She studied law at the University of Zimbabwe and dance at Mills College in Oakland, California. However, as African knowledge acquisition is not accompanied by formal diplomas, it is impossible to quantify what her body holds. chipaumire acknowledges these knowledges alongside the Western forms that have been imposed upon her.
CRITICAL RECEPTION
“The performance and its striking blend of ominous and relaxed atmospheres reveal the structure of the damage caused by war, colonialism, and widespread violence.” — Helmut Ploebst, derStandard
“Dambudzo turns out to be much more than a simple dance show; it is a sensory and political experience, a celebration of resilience and freedom. Nora Chipaumire reminds us that art can be a powerful vector of collective memory. — Fatshimetrie
“Dambudzo is an immersive work that only nora chipaumire could create.” — Muriel Maalouf, Rfi
CREDITS
Concept and Creative Direction: nora chipaumire
Performers: nora chipaumire, Tatenda Chabarwa, tyroneisaacstuart, SoKo Jena, Beauty Katiji, Fatima Katiji, Jonathan Kudakwashe Daniel, and Mohamed Y. SHIKA
Music Recordings: Bhundu Boys
Production Assistants: Kwadwo Owusu Ansah, Abigail Hutchinson, Johanna Rau, and Catalina Wortmann
Film Production: Mieke Ulfig
Sound Engineers: Vusumuzi Moyo and Kwamina Biney
Technical Director: Heidi Eckwall
Scenic Construction: Irene Pätzug
Company Management: Laetitia Tshombe and Amélie Gaulier
Booking and Distribution: ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann and Astrid Rostaing
Dambudzo is a commission of Wiener Festwochen and Festival d’Automne à Paris, produced by nora chipaumire, and developed in residency with Callie’s Berlin.
Funded by the Visual Arts Project Fund of the Goethe-Institut.
nora chipaumire inc. is supported by the Mellon Foundation.
