From July 20 to August 25, 2019, will take place the 12th edition of the Guadeloupe International Zouk Festival (FIZ). On Saturday, March 23rd, the members of the association that organizes this cultural event on the island held their first preparatory meeting at the Rémy Nainsouta Cultural Center in Pointe-à-Pitre in the presence of twenty people and kariculture.net.
As every year, the initiator of the Guadeloupe International Zouk Festival (FIZ) – Eugène Louisor – began to meet the participants to prepare this festival which brings together, besides the essential zouk music, several other artistic disciplines: singing, dance, visual arts, photography etc.
After “Rhythms and Feelings” proposed in 2018, “Reconciliation” is the theme chosen by the organizers in 2019 : “Before, there was a balkanization of what we are now, we see things as a whole but we do not forget the details. We talk about the unity of the root, I mean, for example, all the gwoka groups that participated in the FIZ when we created it, especially with Freddy Marshall; we start from this root to go to modernity This is the meaning of the theme “Reconciliation”, explained Eugène Louisor to the audience.
After presenting the poster of this 12th edition, several aspects of the Festival were discussed during this first meeting attended by artists, presidents of dance associations, a president of carnival association etc.).
An art exhibition for amateurs and professionals
About the major plastic arts exhibition that was integrated into the FIZ in 2011 and which has become an essential event to meet not only the confirmed artists but also the amateur artists (but rich in talent!), it will be held from July 20 to 28, 2019 at the Rémy Nainsouta Cultural Center in Pointe-à-Pitre. This year, the 12 to 16 artists who usually take part in this event (painters, sculptors, poets and photographers) will work from this theme “Reconciliation”. Several artists have already announced their participation in this exhibition – the person in charge is sculptor Nicole Favières-Bourguignon – which is an opportunity for professional artists to become better known to the public, a springboard for amateurs who hesitate to earn their living only from their art and an opportunity for all artists to meet. The opening will take place on Friday, July 19th. As schools are closed in July and August because of long holiday, the exhibition will be open to children from leisure centres; introductory workshops in poetry, painting, pastel, paper mache and modelling are also planned for toddlers and teenagers for a modest fee (5 euros). Recall that, during this great art exhibition, the audience can be purchased, if it wants, the works it likes, a way of democratizing art in our island; last year, many works were sold to connoisseurs but also novices in art.
40 years of Kassav’, 12 years of FIZ
About photography, a beautiful exhibition dedicated to Kassav’ – the inventor of zouk music that celebrates this year its 40 years of existence – will be proposed from July 20 to August 25 by photographer Robert Thimodent who was a privileged witness of the group’s debut and which has unique shots of members from Guadeloupe and Martinique. The opening will be held in Le Gosier on Saturday, July 20th.
In 2017, this photo exhibition focused on Patrick Saint-Éloi (1958-2010) and in 2018 on Gilles Floro (1964-1999), two Guadeloupean singers and musicians who died too soon and who contributed to the expansion of zouk in the Caribbean and in the world.
The organization of the “Dance” part was also discussed. “There will be no question of “competition” because the associations did not like this system”, said Eugène Louisor. We will talk about “Rencontres de la danse Antillaise” (West Indian Dance Meetings) where dance groups (zouk, biguine, quadrille, gwoka, carnival music etc.) will present choreographies and, to finish, all will mix to form a fresco. This is a way of showing that zouk is a “mix” of all these local musics. This event will take place on Saturday, July 27 on the esplanade opposite the town hall of Le Gosier.
There is no FIZ without music, there should be 6 groups (including street music bands or carnival groups) for concerts planned in the towns of Le Gosier (also on this same esplanade) and Deshaies as well as the traditional DJ competitions (on the beach of Le Gosier) and singing competitions. Some further information will be given at future meetings.
The latest thing this year at the Guadeloupe International Zouk Festival is the various artistic meetings can be followed on the platform http://antilles-media.com/.
Websites: festivalduzouk.net & festivalduzouk.org
Phone: 0690 305 219
