In 2018, Brussels is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Expo ’58, the world exhibition that attracted more than 40 million visitors to the foot of the Atomium in 1958. What’s more, the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren is reopening its doors in December. Reason enough for Action Zoo Humain to stage The Truth Commission once again, this time in the unique setting of the Belgian Senate in Brussels.
The Truth Commission
In The Truth Commission, Action Zoo Humain openly asks whether many of today’s social debates do not in fact have their roots in a specific chapter of Belgian colonial history: the exhibition of ‘exotics’ at world expos.
Until a century ago, Flanders and Belgium were champions at exhibiting exotic people as if in a zoo for millions of visitors. Just think of the 144 Congolese in Antwerp (1894), the 270 Congolese in Brussels (1897) or the 128 Senegalese and 60 Filipinos at the World’s Fair in Ghent (1913) who were placed in cages, either literally or figuratively. The toll of these exhibitions was high: several of the people on display lost their lives in the process. The exhibition of ‘exotics’ formed part of a general racist discourse that also spread throughout the rest of Europe. Moreover, this discourse was fuelled by the government, the Catholic Church, academics and artists.
The Truth Commission combines dance, theatre and testimonies into a unique experience and explores the extent to which the ‘human zoo’ still influences social thinking today. Relive this historical event and step into the emotional world of the organisers, the exhibited peoples and the curious visitors. Experience their testimonies for yourself through words, dance and music. The Truth Commission has previously been staged in Ghent (2013), Cape Town (2014), Antwerp (2016) and Mechelen (2017).
The Truth Commission in the Belgian Senate in Brussels (2018)
Are the scars of Belgium’s colonial history still visible in our capital today? Is the situation in Maximilian Park gradually turning into a new human zoo? To whom do the artworks in the AfricaMuseum actually belong? Sixty years after Expo ’58, is the ‘zoo humain’ more alive than ever? Chaired by Annemie Neyts, a committee of artists, historians, scientists and witnesses in the Belgian Senate sets out in search of The Truth.
Both at the 1897 Brussels World’s Fair and at Expo ’58, Congolese people from the Belgian Congo and other Africans were paraded around in mock villages to entertain the public as living attractions. There, they re-enacted ‘authentic’ rituals whilst the white audience looked on.
Whilst the streets of Brussels are becoming increasingly colourful today, debates on migration and racism are becoming increasingly heated. Sixty years after Expo ’58, we find ourselves once again at the North Station and Maximilian Park, gazing wide-eyed at the other. Do we view the refugees and migrants on our streets today through different eyes than the way the people of Brussels in 1958 looked at the Congolese on display? Are the phenomenon of the ‘zoo humain’ and the mechanism of stereotypical image-forming associated with it still relevant today? Has the ‘zoo humain’ infiltrated our daily reality?
In December 2018, Action Zoo Humain is once again conducting an artistic investigation into the display of people at past world expos. Were the ‘exotic villages’ degrading and racist, or were they, on the contrary, a model of cultural exchange? Take a seat in the Senate’s plenary chamber and join us in our search for The Truth.
Special thanks to Marjolijn de Vries, Casper de Vries, Ann Van Vaerenberg, Michiel Van Poucke, Sabien Vandewalle, Silke Vanbeselaere, Suzy Vanderbiesen, Katrijn D'hamers, Anne-Marie Segers, Bjorn Maes, Camille Bourgeus, Babs Verblackt, Bernard Lentulus, Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans, Guido Stockmans, Marco van Leeuwen, Marte, Charlotte De Ro, Eric Gysel, Ingeborg Vermeyen, Vormingplus Citizenne, Hand in Hand tegen racisme, Muntpunt, Brands & Stories
Credits
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Brussels (2018)
Cast Gia Abrassart, prof. dr. Kevin Absillis (UA), prof. dr. Zana Aziza Etambala (KMMA), dr. Bambi Ceuppens (KMMA), Chokri Ben Chikha, Sanderijn Helsen, Chantal Loïal, Nabil Mallat, Starlette Mathata-Mathas, Moussa N’Diaye, Annemie Neyts, Dahlia Pessemiers-Benamar, Marijke Pinoy, Christophe Vekeman Led by Chokri Ben Chikha Directed by Chokri & Zouzou Ben Chikha Production manager Sietske de Vries Technical Niels Ieven
Production Action Zoo Humain Coproduction KASK/School of Arts/HoGent Partners Belgian Senate, BELvue museum, DeMens.nu, Koninklijk Instituut voor Midden-Afrika (KMMA), Muntpunt, NTGent Special thanks to Bert Anciaux, dr. Karel Arnaut (KU Leuven), Koen Augustijnen, dr. Véronique Clette-Gakuba (ULB), dr. Maarten Couttenier (KMMA), prof. dr. Idesbald Goddeeris (KU Leuven) With the support of the Flemish Government
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Antwerp (2016) & Mechelen (2017)
Cast Chokri & Zouzou Ben Chikha, Dahlia Pessemiers-Benamar, Marijke Pinoy, Mourade Zeguendi, prof. em. Herman Balthazar, Chantal Loïal, Ilse Mariën, Moussa N'Diaye, Omar Ba, Tom Lanoye/Eric Kempeneers, dr. Zana Aziza Etambala (Koninklijk Instituut voor Midden-Afrika), prof. dr. Henk De Smaele (UA), prof. dr. Kevin Absillis (UA), Starlette Mathata-Mathas, Koen Augustijnen Led by Chokri Ben Chikha Directed by Chokri & Zouzou Ben Chikha
Production Action Zoo Humain Coproduction KC Vooruit, KASK/School of Arts/Hogent Partners Cultuur District Antwerpen, ccBe, Kultuurfaktorij Monty, Mestizo Arts Festival, Arenberg With the support of the Flemish Government and the City of Antwerp
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Cape Town (2014)
Cast Tom Lanoye, prof. em. Herman Balthazar, Chokri & Zouzou Ben Chikha, Marijke Pinoy, Mourade Zeguendi, Chantal Loïal, Ilse Mariën, Annelies Verdoolaege (UGent), Josiane Kimbaut, Michael Olabode- Myslop Owa, Christopher Kudyahakuda Dirwe
Production Action Zoo Humain Coproduction KC Vooruit, KASK/School of Arts/Hogent Partner University of the Western Cape With the support of the Flemish Government, the Province of East Flanders, the City of Ghent, Ghent University, Afrikaans Platform, Regie der Gebouwen, Liga Voor Mensenrechten
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Ghent (2013)
Cast prof. em. Herman Balthazar, Johan Braeckman (UGent), Youssou N'Dour (o.v.), Marijke Pinoy, Chokri & Zouzou Ben Chikha, Maimouna Diao, Kardinaal Danneels (o.v.), Mourade Zeguendi, Minister Bourgeois (o.v.), Ousmane N'Diaye, Koen Augustijnen, Ilse Mariën, Ben Benaouisse, Evelien Jonckheere (UGent), Moussa Nambé N'Diaye, Chantal Loial, Herwig Deweerdt (Cyriel Buysse Genootschap), Studenten KASK, Omar Ba (Afrikaans Platform), Annelies Verdoolaege (UGent)
Production Action Zoo Humain Coproduction KC Vooruit, KASK/School of Arts/Hogent In collaboration with De Centrale, les ballets C de la B en CAMPO With the support of the Flemish Government, the Province of East Flanders, the City of Ghent, Ghent University, Afrikaans Platform, Regie der Gebouwen, Liga Voor Mensenrechten
Press
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Bruzz (Belgium)
06.12.2018"It is 60 years since Congolese and other Africans were put on display in a mock village at Expo ’58 to entertain the public. Brussels Mayor Close (PS) has now apologised for this. 'More attention must be paid to the history of colonisation in education.'"Read more -
DeWereldMorgen (Belgium)
10.12.2018"More than 500 members of the public in the Senate voted on five policy recommendations for coming to terms with Belgium’s colonial past."Read more -
Forum+ voor onderzoek en kunsten (Belgium)
16.03.2016"The dramaturgical interventions cleverly encourage reflection on the way in which reality appears to us in and through its staging. This gives the production a strong self-reflective dimension."Read more -
DeWereldMorgen (Belgium)
19.04.2013"Is it a theatre production, a performance, or actually a real truth commission? The terms don’t matter. It’s an event that leaves the participants reeling."Read more -
Etcetera (Belgium)
01.06.2013"Stereotypes are used; you either go along with them or they annoy you, until you realise that they are deconstructed through their very use, thereby creating space for a theory and practice that breaks through the stereotypes."Read more -
Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium)
19.04.2013"The Ben Chikha brothers manage to spark a serious debate in a light-hearted manner, through tightly structured arguments complemented by a few video clips and African musical interludes."Read more
Brussels (2018)
Ghent (2013)
