Public programme : “Im/mobile : counter-narratives of the space conquest”, a proposal by Oulimata Gueye
PUBLIC PROGRAMME
“Im/mobile: counter-narratives of the space conquest”
A proposal by Oulimata Gueye
On 6 June 1973, the three American astronauts who took part in the Apollo 17 mission paid an official visit to Senegal as part of their tour of Africa and Asia. On this occasion, they presented President Abdou Diouf with a fragment of lunar stone, which is now kept in the collection of the National Archives. Although relatively forgotten, this event nevertheless contributed in its own way to fuelling the myth of space exploration as a universal mission. As Joël Vacheron points out in Cosmovisions. A Visual Study of the Colonial Foundations of Space Exploration (Metis Press, 2025), the Apollo programme was the first major media event of a globalised cosmology, where images of space — often reduced to their aesthetic beauty and scientific curiosity — served to maintain the illusion of their universality.
Much like the rest of the world, space research and industry represent a development challenge for the African continent. Nigeria, through its National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), plans to send an astronaut into space in 2030. As for Senegal, in August 2024 it launched its first artificial satellite, the GAINDESAT-1A nanosatellite, designed in partnership with the Montpellier University Space Centre.
Yet, as the American firm SpaceX contemplates the relocation of humanity to outer space in the name of supposedly better habitability, and as space debris represents one of the most striking manifestations of orbital pollution, how should we critically view the history of the space conquest? Conceived in line with the artists' approaches and developed in collaboration with critic and curator Oulimata Gueye, this programme of encounters invites us to revisit the colonial foundations of space exploration with researcher Joël Vacheron, in order to reopen the field of planetary imaginaries. We will reflect on the following questions: what are the continental versions of the Western myth? How can we rehabilitate the long history of relations between scientific knowledge and celestial imaginaries maintained by African societies? How could contemporary technologies be linked to forms of spiritual and bodily knowledge?
Dates :
Tuesday 9 December, 6pm
Introduction by Oulimata Gueye, a Senegalese and French art critic and exhibition curator who teaches theory at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Her curatorial approach is based on research that brings together contemporary art, literature, popular culture and the history of science and technology.
Conversation with Tabita Rezaire & Pap Souleye Fall.
Thursday, 11 December, 6 p.m.
Presentation by Joël Vacheron of his book: Cosmovisions. A visual study of the colonial foundations of space exploration, (Metis Press, 2025). Joël Vacheron holds a PhD in social sciences, teaches cultural studies, is an associate researcher at ECAL and co-founder of the Afropea Cultural Centre.
Conversation with Mbaye Diop & Bibi Seck.