“We noted the isolation of the Tunisian artistic scene which is nevertheless in full swing, says curator Camille Lévy Sarfati. Particularly due to the increasingly strict border policies imposed by European countries, but also the complexity of air mobility on the African continent. » On September 14 in Tunis, they were seven artists, curators and producers with Aziza Gorgi, Hana Barhoumi, Ismaïl Bahri, Nour Amrani, Sarah Ben Hafsia and Youssef Chebbi) to launch the collective Nessij (“canvas” in Arabic). The idea: link Tunisian artists, curators and researchers with places of residence, institutions and galleries abroad (such as soon the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the MAM foundation in Grand Suza, Cameroon, or Think Tanger, in Morocco), but also be a platform for welcoming foreign art workers to Tunisia. Intermediary between cultural actors and structures, Nessij wishes to carry out a “decentering”underlines Camille Lévy Sarfati, and “participate in the existing network in Tunisia”citing in particular initiatives such as L’Art Rue. Financed by private sponsorship, mainly from Tunisian financiers each associated with a particular project, Nessij, today focused on the visual arts and cinema, wishes to extend its field of action in the years to come to live performance, to literature and music.
DR.
