Gathering around the history of Black people

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This article was published 07/02/2024 (682 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All year long, Wilgis Agossa is thinking about February.

Agossa, 42, is the curator of the Noir et Fier (Black and Proud) festival, an event he developed with Théâtre Cercle Molière (TCM) to mark Black History Month. It’s his job, but it’s mostly his passion.

Two years ago, still at the height of the pandemic, Agossa felt compelled to create some sort of event to bring people from Black communities together. Since moving to Winnipeg in 2010 from Benin, Agossa had worked as a journalist for La Liberté and as a communications pro for Accueil Francophone.

No matter where he went, he heard fascinating stories from Black Manitobans and newcomers. Wouldn’t it be nice, he thought, to celebrate those experiences?

“So I said, ‘I have this idea. What do you think?’” recalls Agossa, a photographer, videographer and, for the last two years, the manager of the St. Boniface Cathedral.

That was all it took for Noir et Fier — a month-long cultural exchange, arts festival and community celebration — to get started. Around 100 people attended the first event in person, and by 2023, that number was easily surpassed.

This year’s event, which kicked off Feb. 4 with a screening of Cameroonian director Narcisse Wandji’s drama Sadrack, is well on its way to becoming the biggest edition yet.

Working with a team of volunteers and friends, along with staff at TCM, Agossa has spent the past six months getting ready for this one.

The theme is Ensemble (Together).

“I think for me, togetherness is very important,” says Agossa, who first visited Canada in 2005, meeting his wife during a language-exchange program in Quebec.

“We need to talk about what’s happening as a community, as a Black community, in order to face everything that’s happening.”

Noir et Fier encompasses a wide array of programming, including a photography and visual art exhibition at TCM, 340 Provencher Blvd., featuring the work of Agossa, photographer Joseph Hervé Ahissou and painter Xavier Mutshipayi.

More than 800 students from across the city will be coming to the exhibit, which is produced in partnership with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Agossa says.

From Thursday to Saturday, the theatre will also host a run of playwright Guy Régis Jr.’s L’amour telle une cathédrale ensevelie, “a tragic story of exiled and dislocated Haitian families” told in Creole and French. With accompaniment by Haitian classical guitarist Amos Coulanges, the “cathartic opera-theatre” is recommended for audience members age 15 and up.

On Feb. 13, Regis will host a performance workshop entitled Theatre of Cruel Derision, providing attendants the opportunity to learn from the artist firsthand.

Over the weekend, the festival will put on a market for Black artisans and entrepreneurs at the CMHR from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Last year, 18 vendors attended. This year, there are 35.

While some people are getting ready for Super Bowl Sunday, Noir et Fier will celebrate a different, more beautiful type of football, inviting audiences to watch the final of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations at TCM at 2 p.m. The final will feature the winners of the semifinal games between South Africa and Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast and Congo.

“This is where you want to be that day,” says Agossa.

On Feb. 18, Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré — the son of legendary musician Ali Farka Touré — is set to perform at TCM, with an opening set by guitarist Harry Manx.

In 2022, Touré released a pair of acclaimed albums, the solo Les Racines and the buzzier Ali, a collaboration with Houston’s ethereal, groove-inducing trio Khruangbin. That concert ($40) is organized by Festival du Voyageur.

And for Feb. 29, Agossa co-ordinated the first Noir et Fier gala, a $75-a-head banquet at the CMHR.

“I know I’m tired, but I’m so excited that I cannot sleep,” Agossa says about the programming yet to come. “I receive comments every single day that give me the energy possible to keep going.

“The month is not over, but I’m already thinking about what we’re going to do next year.”

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com