Diane Gistal
Désirée Rochat
Aishah Seivwright
Ornella Tannous

‘Habiter le monde’ Round Table : Community Organizing in Action
06.15.2021

In the exhibition Habiter le monde : esquisse d’une rencontre (Inhabiting the World: Outline of an Exchange), curator Moridja Kitenge Banza creates a dialogue between a collection of works by Montreal-based Black artists who reflect on what it means to in/cohabit a space. The text by Felwine Sarr, from which the name of the exhibition is derived, posits a new mode of living that deters us from the ongoing exploitation of resources to build the world and instead calls for a way of living that is founded upon the building of quality relations. These relations extend beyond and across inter- and intrapersonal, political, social, and economic spheres. Moving past modes of imagining better futures or quality relations, this roundtable reflects on the philosophical question of how to inhabit the world and turns it back unto our lived relations. Featuring a panel of community and cultural workers from four different Black community organizations and efforts in Montreal, we will gain practical insights on how we can respond to Sarr’s and Banza’s call to form and strengthen these community relations and how, perhaps, we can start choosing to live differently.

With guest speakers :

Diane Gistal – Nigra Iuventa

Désirée Rochat – Socioeconomic Summit For The Development Of Black Communities

Aishah Seivwright – Black Mental Health Connections Montreal

Ornella Tannous – NOOR

Moderated by :

Prakash Krishnan, CLARK’s cultural mediator

* The discussion will take place in a mix of French and English reflecting the multilingual nature of Montreal community organizing.

Centre CLARK’s 2021 cultural mediation program, which includes this talk, is supported by Ubisoft, Business/Arts, and Canadian Heritage.