Help Elijah Get to Douala, Cameroon!

My name is Elijah Ndoumbe and I am a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and chef. I've recently been accepted into RAW Académie's Session 10 Landmarks programme to further develop my project "Bienvenue À Ma Table " in Douala, Cameroon in October of this year. Funds raised will go to flight, visa, accommodation, day to day, and material costs.

My ancestral ties to Cameroon flow through me, to my father, and to his mother. My grandmother’s cooking was an anchor for our family and a significant marker on my own kitchen education. She passed away when I was twelve - Bienvenue À Ma Table is in honor of her. Going to Cameroon in the context of this programme allows me to connect to my roots in a safe and guided framework with local artists, actors, and art institutions in Douala. It comes at a pivotal moment in my life and practice - as I align more deeply with my purpose through creative conversations involving cuisine, and the exchange of knowledge through food.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Bienvenue À Ma Table (BAMT) began as a multidisciplinary dining experience inviting attendees to engage with the story and process behind the food they are eating. It is a space of research and exploration of memory, heritage, movement and migration through recipes and ingredients, as well as an opportunity to expand upon different understandings of food, its histories, and its preparation across different traditions within the African Diaspora. It is an extension of care and collaboration, and an archive of shared intimacy. In my artistic practice, food is a space for critical thinking, archiving, documentation, and storytelling. In 2020 with the support of the Berlin based Forec ast Forum, I activated BAMT through the theme of Ndolé, in the context of Cape Town, South Africa, where I was living at the time.

WHY I NEED YOUR HELP:

As an emerging transgender artist of color experiencing financial instability and facing precarity with housing and work, I don't have the means to pay for costs associated with the programme. I don't want to let this stop me from trying, however, and am calling on my community and those who are interested in supporting the work to give whatever they can to help me reach my goal. I am deeply grateful for any support you are willing to share - a little goes a long way.

DONOR OFFERINGS:

A limited edition of 10 prints from four different series are available to donors. The first five prints of each edition will be offered to donors who give $350 or more, with remaining editions provided at donations of $500 or more.

CODE-SWITCHING, MARSEILLE, FRANCE (2022)

A4 Print, Limited Edition of 10

Code Switching is a continuation of work begun by Elijah Ndoumbe and Maëlle Chabrillat Eboumbou in 2022, where they combined ritual and performance with photography. Both artists are of French-Cameroonian origin, and their practices are rooted in the impalpable, experimentation and intuition. Through performance, sculpture, costume design and photography, they set out to explore ancestral roots in transit. Their work lies at the intersection of research, improvisation and play. The latter is rooted in the documentation and understanding of marginalized identities outside a Western hegemonic framework.

FLOWER CHILD, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (2019)

A4 Print, Limited Edition of 10

From a series of images made with South African artist, poet, performer, and embodied practitioner Kopano Maroga for their debut poetry collection "Jesus Thesis and other

Critical Fabulations." Exhibited at the Goethe Institute in Johannesburg & UCT Hiddingh ‘It’s Rude to Stare’ (Group Shows). A surreal exploration of gender, queerness, and faith.

SHAPESHIFTING FLOW, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (2019)

A4 Print, Limited Edition of 10 (9 available)

The series "Flow, a Meditation on Making," is an invitation for quiet reflection in globally turbulent times. The omnipresence of the ocean and its waves, wind and current offer a cleansing of sorts - a washing away: stillness, brought to life. Collins stands alone, a figure wreathed in tulle amidst a rocky beach landscape, exploring his own form through movement and flow. Featured in Unlabelled Magazine.

SADA, L'OCEAN DU LAC ROSE, SENEGAL (2022)

A4 Print, Limited Edition of 10 (9 available)

Initiated in the container of the Black Rock 40 Creative Residency (as part of the Black Rock 40 Exhibit curated by Kehinde Wiley), during the DAK’ART Biennale 2022, this image is a selection from a series co-created with dancers local to the Dakar, Senegalese scene in response to themes of the body and human relationship to our various environments. Images range from medium-format to 35mm analogue black and white photography. Much of the work relies on conscious improvisation and intentional response to themes, environment, and participating actors (in this case, embodied movers/dancers). The series continues to be in development across regions and with various dancers.