Villa Karo, Author at Villa Karo

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Batiikkia! Batik!

Batiikkiworkshoppausta (kuvakertomus) / Batik workshopping / Un atelier du batik

Ensin sulatetaan vaha tulella / Start by melting the wax / On commence par faire fondre la cire sur le feu

Palmunlehdistä tehdyllä harjalla roiskitaan vahaa kankaalle, jolloin vahatut kohdat eivät värjäydy; kankaan kuidut ovat jo imeneet vahaa eivätkä enää ime väriä.

With a brush made of palm leaves the wax is shot on the fabric; the parts that are waxed will not absorbe colour and this creates the different patterns.

Avec un balai fait de feuilles de palme on met la cire sur le tissu; les parties cirées n’absorbent pas la couleur et c’est ainsi que se forment des motifs.

Kuvioita / Patterns / Motifs

Kangas kastellaan vedessä, upotetaan väriin ja nostetaan narulle kuivumaan.

The fabric is first put into water and then sunk into colour, after which it needs to dry.

Le tissu est plongé d’abord dans l’eau et ensuite dans la couleur, et après monté sur les cordes pour sécher.

Väri muuttuu kuivuessaan. / While drying, the colour changes. / La couleur change lors du séchage.

Lopputuloksia… / Results / Résultats…

Värejä / Colours / Couleurs

Värin kuivuttua vaha poistetaan kankaasta kiehuvassa vedessä, jonka jälkeen kangas pestään. Kuivumisen jälkeen se silitetään: silitys poistaa viimeiset vahan rippeet ja tuo värit esille.

The wax is removed from the fabric with boiling water and after that the fabric is washed and ironed which removes the last of the wax and makes the colours shine brightly.

La cire s’enlève avec de l’eau bouillante; après le tissu est lavé et repassé, ce qui enlève le reste de la cire et fait briller les couleurs.

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La tradition du concert du premier samedi du mois respectée à la Villa Karo

Concert_032013_Seraphin ZOUNYEKPE — Samedi 4 mai 2013, image: Séraphin ZOUNYEKPE

Ancré dans les habitudes des Popolais depuis des années, le concert du premier samedi du mois sur la scène de la Villa Karo de Grand Popo a réuni encore dans l’enceinte du centre des centaines de personnes ce samedi.

Sur la grande scène du Centre Finno-Africain se succède des groupes d’animation locale. Pour ce mois-ci, pas de grande vedette invitée. Place aux jeunes et artistes en quête d’audience. A la suite, deux groupes chorégraphiques du Ceg d’Agoué sur des musiques urbaines Koulikaché et Noudjihou. Le ton est donné, des notations s’engagent dans le public hautement jeune. Sans cesse en croissance, bruyant et en de petits regroupements d’animation les heureux spectateurs, le popo à la bouche, sanctionnent avec vivat le passage du jeune groupe de musique Les frères popo qui leur ont proposé leur sigle L’hymne de Nonvitcha. Les doigts bien détachés les uns des autres en grands éventails, les paumes entrechoquent pour saluer la chrographie, les valeurs de cohésion, d’union que la célébration du Nonvitcha propage. Cette ambiance installée, place est faite au groupe New System.

Composé de trois membres, une chanteuse : Julie Sossou de Sahouè, des percussionnistes : Gabriel Tèko de Lokossa et Amour Donhouanvi de Grand Popo, le New System est diversement accueilli. D’abord, l’entrée en scène de la chanteuse sur des sonorités Goghoun fait resserrer le public autour de la piste. Après quelques mouvements de hanche et le dos tourné au public pour le fameux Alimè whouélé, un jeune homme lui décerne à la volée un 8/10. Ensuite, c’est la dextérité des percussionnistes qui est objet de satisfécit de toutes partes. Une application qui leur permet de créer de rythmes à l’originalité saisissante. Mélange entre autres du Agbadja et du Massè Gohoun, du High-life et du Chinkoumè, du Kaka et du Blékété… Enfin, si sa présence sur scène est d’un certain attrait, la chanteuse, sans s’en rendre compte, n’a pas coulé le grand amour avec son public avec ses longues interventions entre deux chansons. Ce qui toutefois, n’a pas enlevé le crédit de la création originale dont ce groupe fait montre. A leur suite, les élèves du Ceg Grand Popo, à travers sketch et animations musicale mettront fin à cette première grande rassemblement culturel avant l’ultime communion de cette localité le 19 mai prochain à travers le Nonvitcha.

Hurcyle Gnnonhoué

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Soirée finno-africaine at Yes Papa, Cotonou

The idea of organizing a Finnish-African night first saw the daylight during another project of filming a documentary of a famous Beninese musician, Gnonnas Pedro, and his son, Gil Gnonnas.

Gnonnas Pedro was very popular in Benin and performed more than once in the Villa Karo, already at the opening concert. He became famous for his group Africando which regrouped well-known African artists playing salsa from several places, such as Guinea, Senegal and Benin. The music of Africando was a blend of the main regional rhythms of the Mono-Couffo (from Grand-Popo to Lokossa) and modern instruments. Gnonnas Pedro was called maestro for his work and talent in arranging Africando’s music and the main creator of Agbadja World Beat System.

According to Georges Agbazahou, who is filming the documentary, it is almost as if the father is born again in the son, and the documentary film is a homage for the father and the son. For this documentary in question a team consisting of Georges, Gil, Antti Sundberg (who was in residence in Villa Karo and in charge of filming) and the Villa Karo CIMO trainee Taru took off on a Sunday to the town of Lokossa in which Gnonnas Pedro’s house, which has now been turned into a museum, is located.

After passing the day together the idea of continuing the Finnish-African collaboration in the form of a musical get-together and concert event was put forward as Gil Gnonnas and his band play as residents in a cultural corner and bar in Cotonou called Yes Papa. This was seen as possible win-win situation in giving variety to Yes Papa’s concerts and offerings and on the side of the Villa Karo in increasing its sphere of influence as well as people’s awareness of its existence even outside of Grand-Popo. The aim was to create a new tradition for mutual benefit and hopefully increasing the possibilities of Finnish residing artists to create contacts during their stay in the Villa Karo.

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Towards May

In the life of the Finnish-African Cultural Center the first four months of the year 2013 were full of collective waves of inspiration associated with a wide spread of great and positive intentions gathered from a burning desire for creativity. Arrivals and departures of residents started on a very good note in January: Timo Sipola (journalist), Liisa Väisänen(Ph.D) and her husband Marco Peretto (photographer),Risto Lindstedt (journalist) and his wife Päivi Lindstedt, Hannu Lindroos (photographer),Antti Sundberg (musician), Tuukka Vuorinen (musician), Aapo Halonen (musician) and Leena Eilittä (researcher) were those who happily crossed the boundary from year 2012 into 2013 in the premises of Villa Karo.

Among the lucky ones who spent the New Year in Grand-Popo was a group of Estonians led by Triin Toompuu who toured Ghana, Togo and Benin. With arrivals in January through to April, Villa Karo attracted also a lot of external collaborators with resident artists like Tytti Oittinen (film director), Ilpo Jauhiainen (soundscape artist), Dan Henriksson (play writer), Anna Retulainen (painter), Pirkko Kaartinen (writer) and her husband Reijo Mäkiä, Eri Shimatskuka (textile designer) and Nana Oforiatta-Ayim (writer, film maker).

Another event that enlivened the house was a two weeks workshop by ten African artists from Togo, Benin and Nigeria led by Godfrey Okorodus living in Belgium. Grand-Popo’s population is constantly in contact with Villa Karo through direct collaboration with local artists either via collective or personal projects like environmental education and arts in general.

Visitors from all walks of life animated Villa Karo’s activities. A surprise visit from a delegation of Finnish Embassy in Abuja, a group of German tourists, Spanish Architects and Journalist/Correspondent of RFI in Finland, just to mention a few, were welcomed to the center by three charming ladies, Sylvie (chief of programs), Georgette (collection manager) and Taru (CIMO-trainee) omnipresent at their respective posts.

Our weekly film projections and monthly concerts from January to April attracted, as always, young and old folks to the center. Lot of appreciation from the public is always expressed through comments traditionally relayed by school children who visit Villa Karo for various reasons especially just to comment on past events with some critiques related to artists’ performances etc.

To conclude, our beginning of the year has been extremely fruitful with a new mixture of commitments to the cultural world, thanks to artistic qualities of the residents like Dan Henriksson, Tytti Oittinen, Ilpo Jauhiainen and many others!

Kwassi D. AKPLADOKOU

Hannu Lindroos elokuvailta — Waiting for the movie night. Photo: Hannu Lindroos

Tekijä: Villa Karo