Born on June 26, 1913 in the town of Basse-Pointe in Martinique, Aimé Césaire died on April 17, 2008 in Fort-de-France. If the writer, poet and politician had been a baobab tree, he would have celebrated his 110th year of existence this year.
Thus, as part of the celebration of the 110th anniversary of Aimé Césaire’s birth, the Fondation Clément has decided to pay tribute to him with two exhibitions exploring his literary, political, cultural and social work.
The first exhibition is entitled “Nous Laminaires”, in tribute to his latest collection, “Moi, laminaire”, published 40 years ago. It features contemporary photographs of Martinique’s natural landscapes by three artists (Juliette Agnel, Nicolas Derné and Xuebing Du) and poems by the former mayor of Fort-de-France for 56 consecutive years (from 1945 to 2001).
“A collective journey, which reveals the poet’s deepest self, and also the authentic nature of this island and its people. Symbolic landscapes and duels : sometimes magnificent, sometimes catastrophic, sometimes both; sometimes energetic, sometimes destructive, nightmarish, sometimes both. An eminently poetic nature. Martinique, both a land of suffering and hope”, this is how is presented this exhibition, on view at the Fondation Clément from September 29 to November 24, 2023, daily, from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. The curators are Colette Césaire and Jean-Marc Lacabe. “Nous, Laminaires” is produced by Tête Haute et Noire and the Fondation Clément.
Produced in partnership with the Aimé Césaire Actuel association and Tête Haute et Noire, the second exhibition is entitled “Aimé Césaire, un homme de ruptures”. Its curators are Colette Césaire and Marc Césaire.
In its presentation, we read: “In its polysemy, with its multiple variations, the word rupture imposes itself here. For, on closer inspection, the author of the “Cahier d’un retour au pays natal” and the (re)creator of King Christophe was no less than the pamphleteer who wrote the “Discourse on Colonialism” or the critical thinker to whom the “Lettre à Maurice Thorez” is due (…)”.
This exhibition on the co-founder (with Léopold Sédar Senghor and Léon-Gontran Damas) of the literary movement of Negritude can be viewed free of charge from September 29 to November 24, 2023, daily, 9:00 am to 6:30 pm, at the Fondation Clément.
Around these two exhibitions, Lilian Pestre de Almeida will give a lecture entitled “L’oeuvre de Césaire, nouvelles perspectives de recherche” (Césaire’s work, new research perspectives ) on Sunday October 1 at 10:00 am. Admission is free, and reservations are not required.
