The African Voices Festival at Plásmata 3

This year, the African Voices Festival—organized by the Kelenya collective, the community of Côte d’Ivoire, the Guinean nationals’ community, and the organization Community Rights in Greece—is presented in collaboration with Onassis Stegi, as part of the Plásmata 3 exhibition. From May 27 to June 15, Pedion tou Areos becomes a vibrant space of encounter, expression, and listening, where African communities do not simply ask to be heard—they take the floor to tell their own stories.

At a time when the issue of representation in public space is central to both artistic and political debates, the African Voices Festival creates a space for direct expression and presence by the subjects themselves, a platform for discourse, expression, and gathering.

Experience, knowledge, and memory are not conveyed solely through written or spoken language, but also through embodied practices, music, dance, imagery, and other sensory languages that are often undervalued or marginalized by dominant forms of discourse.

The African Voices Festival began in 2024 as an initiative of the Kelenya collective, the Anasa Cultural Center, and the Laboratory of Anthropological Research at Panteion University, with the aim of highlighting the silenced voices of African diasporas in Greece, particularly those from West Africa. From its inception, it has functioned as a space of co-organization and cultural co-creation, aspiring to become an annual event open to ever more voices and communities.

Its collective structure, based on co-organization and polyphonic participation, aspires to decolonize public space and cultural expression. Its focus is not on the ‘voice for’ but on the ‘voice from’: from the subjects themselves, with their own narratives, their own forms, and their own cultural performativity.

18:30–19:10 | Dance and Femininities: From Physicality to Social Identinty

A conversation with dancers from West Africa and a social anthropologist on dance as a means of expression, resistance, and empowerment for femininities in today’s intercultural world.

The discussion will be held in French and Greek. Translation will be available.

Aïssata Kouyaté: Dancer, singer, and jeli from Guinea

Hawa Kouyaté: Dancer and jeli from Mali

Maria Irini Sackey: Dancer, dance teacher, and performer of Ghanaian descent, living and working in Greece

Vasiliki Mavridi: Social anthropologist, researcher of Malian dances, dancer

19:15–19:55 | African Diasporic Communities: Belonging and the Athenian Experience

A conversation on the relationship between diasporic communities and space, their cultural expressions and interactions with local society, exploring the challenges, contradictions, and dynamics of the concept of belonging in Athens.

The discussion will be held in French and Greek. Translation will be available.

Moussa Sangare: President of the Ivorian community and founder of Community Rights in Greece

Ibrahim Diallo: President of the Refugee Forum and president of the Guinean community

Linda Nyogo: Leader of the Congolese community

Andreas Notaras: Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University

20:00–20:40 | The Issue of Citizenship

A conversation exploring the experiences of people from the African diaspora, focusing on issues of citizenship, rights, and the contradictions of integration, through personal narratives and social perspectives.

The discussion will be held in English.

United African Women Organization

Katerina Rozakou: Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University

20:45–21:25 | Music, Places, Identinties

A discussion on the roles of music in identities and cultural expressions, the impact of migration, diaspora, and urban landscapes on musical practices, and their connection to places of origin.

The discussion will be held in English, French, and Greek.

Toumany Diawara: Musician from Mali

Thomas Gueï: Musician from Ivory Coast

Dielani Diop: Musician, singer, and MC of Senegalese origin, living and working in Athens

Leonidas Oikonomou: Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University

10:30–12:30 | Dance Workshop with Hawa Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on Garanke-don, a dance associated with the professional caste of leather workers in Mali.

13:00–15:00 | Music and Body Workshop with Toumany Diawara

This workshop explores the relationship between percussion and movement, emphasizing rhythmic awareness and bodily expression. It will focus on the Garanke rhythm, related to the professional caste of leather workers in Mali.
Open to anyone interested in dance or percussion.

15:30–17:30 | Percussion Workshop with Thomas Gueï

The workshop will focus on the Digba rhythm, performed in initiation rites of the Betté ethnic group in Ivory Coast.

18:00–19:00 | Singing Workshop with Aïssata Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on learning songs from the Kuku rhythm, a celebratory welcome dance from Guinea expressing sharing and feminine expression, and Soko, performed at wedding ceremonies by the Malinke ethnic group in Guinea.

19:00–21:00 | Dance Workshop with Aïssata Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on Soko, a dance primarily performed at wedding ceremonies by the Malinke ethnic group in Guinea.

11:00–13:00 | Dance Workshop with Aïssata Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on Kuku, a celebratory welcome dance from Guinea expressing sharing and feminine expression.

13:30–14:30 | Singing Workshop with Aïssata Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on learning songs from the Kuku rhythm, a celebratory welcome dance from Guinea expressing sharing and feminine expression, and Soko, performed at wedding ceremonies by the Malinke ethnic group in Guinea.

15:00–17:00 | Percussion Workshop with Thomas Gueï

The workshop will focus on the Kôtou rhythm, associated with healing practices of the Baoulé ethnic group in Ivory Coast.

17:30–19:30 | Dance Workshop with Hawa Kouyaté

The workshop will focus on Jeli-don, a dance performed during Sandia New Year celebrations by the hereditary jeli group in Mali.

19:00 | Opening Act: Gumboot Trio

Duration: 20 min

A presentation of the Gumboot dance, which originated in the gold mines of South Africa when workers used the rubber boots (known as “gumboots”) they were forced to wear by white factory owners to communicate, since speaking was forbidden. Striking the boots against the ground created powerful sounds combined with rhythmic dance steps, forming a means of resistance and expression.

19:30 | Main Act: Kelenya Band

Duration: 120 min

Music, dance, and songs from West Africa.