There were several reasons to celebrate the temporary exhibition of Freddy Tsimba's work at the newly renovated AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, a stone's throw away from the center of Brussels. It was an important occasion as it was the museum's first large-scale exhibition of contemporary African art and its first one-man show. It is also significant that it was an event recognizing an artist living and working in the Congo, unlike many shows that draw upon selections of works of so-called diaspora artists settled in Europe and North America. What is more, it was curated by In Koli Jean Boffan, an accomplished novelist of Congolese origin, who was not only instrumental in the conceptualization of this exhibition, but whose texts of a book in progress featured as a verbal echo of Tsimba's life and oeuvres.
The opening on October 28, 2020, sadly fell during the pandemic, just the day before the...