The 36th Bienal de São Paulo continues its global journey with its third Invocation, titled Mawali–Taqsim: Improvisation as a Space and Technology of Humanity, which will take place in Zanzibar from February 11th to 13th, 2025. The Invocation will be hosted at Maru Maru Hotel and Golden Tulip Stonetown Boutique, with the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) as a partner institution. 

The Invocation in Zanzibar focuses on the philosophical and artistic dimensions of Taarab, a musical genre that epitomizes the island’s cultural hybridity and resonates as a profound medium for expression, sentiment, and resilience. Improvisation, a fundamental part of Taarab music, offers a profound metaphor for human adaptability and interconnectedness.

Echoing the complexities of Zanzibar’s history – a crossroads of African, Arabic, Asian, and European influences – the third Invocation offers the possibility of reflecting on nuances and accents of humanity on an island that is a point of intersection of multiple cultures, philosophies, sciences. In the words of Djibril Diop Mambéty, art serves as “the grammar of our grandmothers,” and Taarab embodies this ethos through its eclectic blend of musical instruments, poetic lyrics, and improvisational techniques. Zanzibar’s cultural tapestry, reflected in its language, Swahili, and its emblematic Taarab music, provides the setting for this Invocation. 

Know more about the participants.