Abstract
To discover the reality of Chadian artists we follow here the itinerary of Didier Lalaye (‘Croquemort’). What are the new possibilities for engaged artists from a region in Africa, characterized by long and recurrent periods of unrest/conflict, but increasingly connected to ICTs and other innovative technologies including social media? Lalaye’s case shows such an environment could both be an inspiration for engaged artists and a blockage to their development. Why is it that Chadian artists hardly appear in the international scene? The contrast with Cameroon, Mali and Congo is massive and hence the Chadian environment appears, constrained. Or should we phrase it differently and say that we are observing a moment in Chadian history in which engaged artists are finally gaining a space and can contribute to political change? The analysis of the history and present-day situation is at the core of this chapter. Using the deep understanding of one person’s ideas and experiences as a point of departure, this chapter is born out of the interaction between the researcher and the artist as a deep ethnographic encounter, as a way of critiquing contemporary uses and practices of social media and ICT platforms among emerging Chadian musicians and as a way of interacting and resisting state-sanctioned tyranny.
The Chadians who make some furore in the outside world, outside Chad, are maybe not more than two: Croquemort and Beral; Beral and Croquemort
(Patrick Giraudo, IFT, 1 June 2015, Ndjaména)
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Notes
- 1.
See also www.croquemort.biz
- 2.
Invitation to events in the Francophone context:
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Media jeunesse et francophonie, Yaoundé Cameroun (2009)
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À l’école d’été de la Tunisie (2010, première scène de Slam)
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Forum mondial des emplois verts, Niamey (2012)
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Forum mondiale de la langue française Québec, Canada (2012)
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Mali, Festival de slam et humour (2015)
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In 2014, 2015 and 2016: Invitation to the Netherlands and France (concerts, participation in debates, residence)
Prizes:
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Couleurs talent (RFI) 2011
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Ndjam Vie (2011)
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Forum mondial de la langue française (juillet 2012)
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Forum des emplois verts (janvier 2012)
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Cote d’Ivoire Dakar festas HH 2013)
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Canada (2014)
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Prix de novelles/littéraire. Lille (twice); Lyon, Toulouse
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- 3.
- 4.
Omitted from our discussion:
(Je suis collé à mon ordinateur; je fouille tous qui est possible: c’est ça qui a commencé de me faire sortir du Tchad; C’est bien aussi grâce a Preston; qui l’a poussé qui l’a fait écouter les titres slam; studio d’une radio ou il travaillait, A qui je dois tout.)
Il y a eu Makris, cote technique Anderson; première album;
Amis: Zyzou qui s’est occupé à suivre RFI, c’est lui qui a mis RFI au courant de la musique de croquemort.
CCF, qui a donné beaucoup de pousse (Patrick)
Voice 4 thought…j’arrive à avoir concert à Amsterdam, studio professionnelle; cela donne un cadre quand même; l’art c’est d’abord la matière; ma réflexion a changé, calme etc…ce qui manque au Tchad.
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de Bruijn, M., Lalaye, D. (2016). An Engaged Chadian Artist’s Digital Itinerary Towards Political and Civic Success: Pitfalls of Oppression. In: Mutsvairo, B. (eds) Digital Activism in the Social Media Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8_7
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