Ngalula Mafwata: From Telling African Artists’ Stories to Staging Them

Ngalula Mafwata, a Franco-Congolese curator based in Paris, did not set out with a fixed destination in mind. Her path began in fashion before she turned to writing and founded MAYÌ ARTS in 2019.

Over the years it has evolved into a platform dedicated to artists and their stories, and now into a curatorial practice of its own. In mid-September, Mafwata will launch MAYÌ ARTS Curated, the new curatorial arm of the platform, with a solo exhibition by Cameroonian artist Martin Abega at Galerie Filafriques in Geneva.

Titled Sacred Languages: The Metamorphoses, the exhibition brings together works that explore ancestry, femininity, transformation, and the dialogue between the sacred and the contemporary. In conversation with DakArtNews, Mafwata reflects on the evolution of MAYÌ ARTS, what years of working closely with artists have taught her about creativity, and her vision of art as a space for expression, curiosity, and connection between Africa and the world.

Read the interview in French

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MAYÌ ARTS has existed since 2019. When you look back on the beginnings of the project, how do you see the path travelled up to today?

Honestly, I don’t really think about the path travelled. We don’t necessarily think about the destination. Things happened naturally, in a very organic way.
I started from an idea and a passion for writing, which formed the basis for creating the platform. Then, over time, the right encounters happened and the project took shape.

I didn’t launch it thinking that one day I would meet so many people or develop so many projects. But two things have always remained at the centre of MAYÌ ARTS: creating a narrative platform and putting artists at the heart of the conversation. That has then taken different forms. With hindsight, I sometimes struggle to realise how far we’ve come, because for me the project is still in motion.

Have these years of working with artists and the different scenes in which you operate changed the way you look at art?

I think it’s mainly my view of artists that has evolved. By talking with them, interviewing them or visiting their studios, I became aware of creativity as a form of intelligence. A very broad intelligence that consists of starting from one’s environment, mixing it with one’s experiences and inner world, and then managing to communicate something through a medium or a work.

It is this capacity of creation to touch people, beyond their origin or background, that has particularly struck me. It has also allowed me to understand more fully the universal character of art. The questions artists ask themselves can be deeply universal, regardless of origin or time period.

And personally, what does art bring to your life?

Knowledge. Every work we encounter is ultimately a world that opens up. They are new stories that we discover. Art helps keep a young and curious mind. It is what nourishes, what builds culture, and what also allows us to think about the world differently.

After several years in publishing, you are launching MAYÌ ARTS Curated, with an exhibition planned for September at Galerie Filafriques in Geneva, presenting the work of Cameroonian artist Martin Abega. What led you to develop this new dimension of the project?

For me, Curated is an extension of MAYÌ ARTS. The platform’s motto has always been “Care, Curate, Create.” I set that out from the beginning without knowing exactly when each of those dimensions would take shape.

“Care” is truly at the foundation of MAYÌ ARTS. Curated is an additional dimension that goes beyond simply telling artists’ stories. It is now also about working with artists with whom we are aligned and with venues that can host these projects. I really see Curated as a second leg of MAYÌ ARTS, an extension of the platform. And the launch happened in a very organic way. It was simply the right moment.

What does curation allow you to explore that writing and editorial work cannot necessarily do?

Writing is something I love deeply and that I will always be able to do. But curation is a different exercise. It is still about telling a story, but this time by showing it and putting the works in conversation. For me, curation really consists of creating a story and telling it visually.

There are different ways of making an exhibition. It can be a simple showcase where you display a body of work. But curation, for me, truly involves creating a narrative.

How did the collaboration with Martin Abega come about?

I met Martin about a year and a half ago through the artist Julie Laurenge, who suggested I look at his work. I really liked his universe. I then accompanied him for the launch of his photo book Ancestral & Contemporain, which took place at the beginning of the year. The relationship with Carine Biley, the founder of Galerie Filafriques, also developed over time.

Martin’s work is very aesthetic, but there is also this dimension that takes us toward ancestry, with historical symbols such as masks or cowrie shells that are confronted with very contemporary questions around family and femininity.

What particularly interests you about Martin’s work?

First of all, its diversity. He starts from photography and then gradually develops a broader visual and plastic universe. More recently, charcoal has also become an important element in his practice. I also particularly appreciate the presence of the woman and her representation in his work. For me, the woman particularly embodies transformation. Throughout her life she goes through very strong moments of transformation, sometimes marked by pain, but which can also lead to a form of strength. It is especially this idea of metamorphosis that we wanted to highlight.

The theme of your exhibition is Sacred Languages: The Metamorphoses. How did it take shape?

We started from the works Martin had already presented and those he was working on. We asked ourselves what proposition could link them and how to bring them together in a curation that made sense and could open a conversation.

Martin already had deep questions in his work. His work is very aesthetic, but there is also this dimension that leads us toward ancestry, with historical symbols such as masks or cowrie shells that are confronted with very contemporary questions around family and femininity. It is this combination of the sacred, femininity, the symbol and creativity that we wanted to put into conversation.

What themes do you particularly champion as a curator?

I don’t necessarily seek to impose a particular vision. I seek rather to express. We live in a world where we all have the possibility to express ourselves, and I think we sometimes tend to forget that. The questions that interest me personally include those of identity and the way each person can express their identity in their own way.

True success is managing to be oneself and to align with one’s own identity. I am particularly interested in artists and people who embody that: being aligned with who one is, while remaining curious and continuing to explore. I don’t really have a notion of the “beautiful.” I don’t see it as a question of harmony or perspective. For me, beauty is rather managing to be aligned and to embody oneself. And I think authenticity is something that can be felt.

What place does the African diaspora occupy within the vision of MAYÌ ARTS?

For me, the diaspora is fully part of African identity. I think it is embodied in different ways. When I talk about Congo, for example, I like to say that it is the “United States of Congo,” because Congo is truly everywhere. The diaspora makes it possible precisely to create bridges between those who live on the continent and those who live elsewhere. That is also what I have always wanted to do with MAYÌ ARTS: create bridges between Africa and the world.

After all these years building MAYÌ ARTS, what continues to make you want to do this work?

I am passionate. I really like people, above all. I have always had this curiosity to know who they are, what they do and why they do it. What aligns me on a daily basis is truly meeting people: encountering life paths, different profiles, and realising that deep down they are not so different from us.

What would you like MAYÌ ARTS Curated to look like in a few years?

Curated is still a dream under construction, so I don’t necessarily want to make projections. But I hope that MAYÌ ARTS continues to evolve and remains a space of expression and a narrative space for artists, for African people and for all those who come to encounter this universe.

Africa is the life of MAYÌ ARTS. For me it is a boat: one can travel in this boat and one can express oneself. MAYÌ ARTS has always been outside the frame. It is a terrain of expression for the people who come to meet there. What I want is to continue to make the stories travel.

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