[Blake_Stimson,_Gregory_Sholette]_Collectivism_aft(z-lib
The Production of Social Space as Artwork 241generally regarded as complicit in suppressing the subjectivity of the Congolesepeople.Working with a variety of grassroots organizations, Le GroupeAmos employs a number of devices, such as pedagogy for its projects on literacyand nonviolence. With regard to politics it uses public interventionsin various media to transmit its message within the urban neighborhoods ofKinshasa and more broadly beyond the immediate locus of the city. Theseinterventions manifest themselves as forms of direct action targeting speci-Wc deWcits within the political, social, and cultural economy. The actionscan be in the form of a theatrical production organized with local actors(housewives, workers, young students). Other activities of the group involvedidactic teaching material, essays, commentaries, and cartoons published innewspapers, pamphlets, posters, and magazines. Along with these it publishesbooks, teaches clinics, and organizes workshops on democracy and democratization,governance and citizenship, tolerance, civil disobedience, and genderequality. The group also produces radio broadcasts, theater, and audioand short video documentaries taking advantage of the endless reproducibilityof the media works as a way to reach communities in other parts ofthe vast country. This form of direct intervention into public discourse isunique and in many ways novel. Its most recent work has increasingly focusedon the work of reconciliation among warring factions of different Congoleserebel movements. In this capacity it was invited as a participant/observerfrom forums of the Congolese civil society organizations to the peace conferenceon the Congolese civil war hosted by the South African governmentin 2002 in Sun City, South Africa. One could rightly say that there is aproselytizing dimension in the way it employs dominant media strategies toreach a wide variety of publics in its work.Previously, I pointed out the degree to which language plays a formidablerole in the activities of the group. With a large segment of the populationbeing illiterate, Le Groupe Amos is aware that for its work to have adirect consequence within the Weld into which it intervenes, it would needto be conscious of the language of its discourse. In this case their work maintainsa critical awareness of the social and class divisions perpetuated throughthe mastery of the colonial language. Its tactic is not to disavow French,which is the language of ofWcial discourse, but rather to empower the vernacularlanguages (e.g., Lingala, Swahili) as a tool of popular discourse. In sodoing the group seeks to decapitate the class distinctions between those whooccupy the space of power and therefore are perceived to possess discursiveauthority and those on the margins of power who lack a voice. Of the latterclass, women are the most vulnerable to the distortion of power relationshipsthat deWne the chaotic and impoverished character of the Congolese. Thierry
242 Okwui EnwezorN’Landu, a professor of American literature in the University of Kinshasaand founding member of the group, describes some of their projects, stating:Groupe Amos’s commitment to changing Congolese society through nonviolent strategiesis evidenced by numerous inspirational and informative projects. In particular, Amoshas focused on the plight of women in short video documentaries such as Congo aux deuxvisages; L’Espérance têtue d’un peuple, 1997; Femme Congolaise: Femmes aux mille bras, 1997;Au Nom de ma foi, 1997. Et ta violence me scul ta Femme (“Your Violence Made Me aWoman”), 1997, is a video in Lingala, a vernacular language from Kinshasa, which celebratesthe power of Congolese women who struggle for rights in a context where traditions,customs, religion, and even existing laws do not facilitate equality. 32Two things are noteworthy in N’Landu’s statement. The Wrst concernsthe form through which Le Groupe Amos undertakes its work as asociocultural activity rather than speciWcally as a visual art activity. Thiswould lead one to see the group’s work in the broader context of knowledgeproduction than in that of artistic or visual production. The effectiveness ofdirect communication to its audiences leads the group to pursue its workthrough the discursive utility of linguistic identiWcation with each of its speciWcand general audiences. The second point concerns the relationship ofpower to the social reproduction of agency and sovereignty, particularly withregard to women. Here, speciWc critiques of the patriarchal structure of Congolesesociety are directed at the customs, traditions, and existing laws thatplace women in subservient positions of power. Again, the serviceability ofthe Wgure of the authentic has a far more limited purchase than the idea ofthe subject, insofar as the status of women is concerned in the Congolesecontext. This, again, is articulated as one of the stated intentions of the roleof citizenship and author in the development of new forms of social discourseof civil society in the Democratic Republic of Congo. José Mpundu, anothermember of Le Groupe Amos, in an essay on the future of democracy in theDemocratic Republic of Congo, writes:Civil society in the situation of this crisis and in view of the resolution of the conXict willhave to reconnect with its primary vocation: to educate the people in order for them tobe able to take charge of themselves on all levels. Civic, political as well as moral educationwill make of our people the authors of their history and the masters of their destiny.Civil society is asked to play a role of primary importance in the process of liberation ofthe people. . . . Political liberation, economic liberation, cultural liberation, social liberation:that is the true struggle of civil society. In order to do so, it will have to help thepeople organize in an efWcient manner and to elaborate strategies of social struggle. 33Having elaborated this quasi-Marxist view of class struggle,Mpundu, a few sentences later, makes clear the idea that the liberation imaginedby Le Groupe Amos was not just a liberation from the despotism of thestate and its rulers (including the surrogates of Rwanda and Uganda whooccupy the eastern part of the country) but the hegemonic power identiWed
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The Production of Social Space as Artwork 241
generally regarded as complicit in suppressing the subjectivity of the Congolese
people.
Working with a variety of grassroots organizations, Le Groupe
Amos employs a number of devices, such as pedagogy for its projects on literacy
and nonviolence. With regard to politics it uses public interventions
in various media to transmit its message within the urban neighborhoods of
Kinshasa and more broadly beyond the immediate locus of the city. These
interventions manifest themselves as forms of direct action targeting speci-
Wc deWcits within the political, social, and cultural economy. The actions
can be in the form of a theatrical production organized with local actors
(housewives, workers, young students). Other activities of the group involve
didactic teaching material, essays, commentaries, and cartoons published in
newspapers, pamphlets, posters, and magazines. Along with these it publishes
books, teaches clinics, and organizes workshops on democracy and democratization,
governance and citizenship, tolerance, civil disobedience, and gender
equality. The group also produces radio broadcasts, theater, and audio
and short video documentaries taking advantage of the endless reproducibility
of the media works as a way to reach communities in other parts of
the vast country. This form of direct intervention into public discourse is
unique and in many ways novel. Its most recent work has increasingly focused
on the work of reconciliation among warring factions of different Congolese
rebel movements. In this capacity it was invited as a participant/observer
from forums of the Congolese civil society organizations to the peace conference
on the Congolese civil war hosted by the South African government
in 2002 in Sun City, South Africa. One could rightly say that there is a
proselytizing dimension in the way it employs dominant media strategies to
reach a wide variety of publics in its work.
Previously, I pointed out the degree to which language plays a formidable
role in the activities of the group. With a large segment of the population
being illiterate, Le Groupe Amos is aware that for its work to have a
direct consequence within the Weld into which it intervenes, it would need
to be conscious of the language of its discourse. In this case their work maintains
a critical awareness of the social and class divisions perpetuated through
the mastery of the colonial language. Its tactic is not to disavow French,
which is the language of ofWcial discourse, but rather to empower the vernacular
languages (e.g., Lingala, Swahili) as a tool of popular discourse. In so
doing the group seeks to decapitate the class distinctions between those who
occupy the space of power and therefore are perceived to possess discursive
authority and those on the margins of power who lack a voice. Of the latter
class, women are the most vulnerable to the distortion of power relationships
that deWne the chaotic and impoverished character of the Congolese. Thierry