local worlds

Maison Tropicale (2008), by Manthia Diawara
Portugal, 58’. Production: Maumaus-School of Visual Arts

Mireille Ngatsé had lived for several years in a Maison Tropicale in Brazzaville. It was designed by Jean Prouvé, the famous French constructor and architect. Ms. Ngatsé describes the aluminium house as comfortable, even though it had no electricity or running water. She loved the fresh air and the light coming in through the round windows. One day, four men came from France to Brazzaville, and took the Maisons Tropicales away in containers. Today, Mireille Ngatsé sees her house in a catalogue, and reads about it as it is being exhibited around the world as a precious art object. Malian-born Manthia Diawara´s documentary is a complement to Ângela Ferreira’s artistic project on the Maison Tropicale by Jean Prouvé, which was shown at the Venice Biennale. The film brings to life the hidden stories and memories of those left behind in Africa when the Maisons Tropicales were removed. It is a postcolonial excavation into African identity, art and the notion of cultural patrimony.

MANTHIA DIAWARA, Born in Mali,  is currently Professor of Comparative Literature and Film, and director of the Institute of African American Affairs at New York University. He is internationally known for his teaching and scholarship. In 1998-99, he was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa visiting lecturer fellowship; and in 2001 he was distinguished Professor at the School of Criticism (Cornell University). He has received grants from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, ARTE/ZDF, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts. He has also served as distinguished lecturer at Princeton University, Harvard, Cornell, Stanford University, and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). He has published articles on literature, film, and art in scholarly and popular magazines.