Focus sur le Grand Sud – Le Jeune Indépendant

In the grounds of the Villa Boulkine in Hussein-Dey, the inauguration of the 10th edition of the National Cultural Festival of Women’s Creation opened the ball, Saturday evening, of a journey to the heart of the Sahara, placed under the theme “Women of the South… An authenticity that tells a story… and a creativity that shines”. A meeting, driven by an impressive creative impulse, where women from the South make the soul of the desert throb, until October 24.

From the first hours of the launch, the current headquarters of the Grand Museum of Africa, transformed, for the occasion, into a living showcase of the cultures of southern Algeria, was indeed beating to the rhythm of the Sahara. Under the shimmering vaults of the palace, the beats of the tindé resonated, the clinking of silver bracelets and the soft rustle of colorful dresses, enameling the air with an intoxicating Saharan aura, shrouded in mystery and magic.

Visitors, amazed, wandered through the maze of colorful stands where traditional weavings, Tuareg jewelry, Hoggar pottery and Gourara jewelry rubbed shoulders. The hands of the creators, proud and triumphant, traced, with ingenuity, the thread of ancestral knowledge, transmitted from mother to daughter, in the slowness and grace of the gesture.

Between henna, leather and wool, there floated scents that exhaled the burning winds of the South and the infinite silence of the sands. In the distance, voices rose, combining Tuareg songs and the rhythms of guembri, Imzad and other traditional instruments, as if weaving a melodic bridge connecting the dunes to White Algiers.

“Women are the future of men” and “any space devoid of female representation does not inspire confidence”, underlined, from the outset, in a peremptory tone, the Minister of Culture and Arts, Malika Bendouda, opening the ceremony. Addressing a large crowd, she also paid tribute to woman as “builder of civilization and muse of human adventure”.

For the minister, the choice to place this edition under the sign of the South is, moreover, not insignificant: “The South is not just a geographical space, it is a civilizational memory, a spiritual horizon where the Algerian genius is expressed. “. In the same spirit, she celebrated “these women of the South who transform harshness into beauty and isolation into creative vitality”, citing “Queen Tin Hinan” as a symbol of “assumed freedom and timeless creativity”.

In her speech, Ms. Bendouda also highlighted the emblematic figures of female artistic expression in the area: “From Tuareg poets, such as Massine and Tamaghlt, to singers from the South, such as Lalla Badi, diva of the tindi, and Hasna El-Becharia, great star of the diwan, they all embody this exceptional creative force.” And to note: “This illustrates, precisely, how women’s art constitutes a pillar of our cultural identity, testifying, in this way, to the vitality and diversity of the traditions of the South”.

Ms. Bendouda also took advantage of this opening to recall the axes of her cultural strategy, aiming to promote female creativity in all regions of the country, while paying, according to her, to the Algerian South attention proportionate to its “material and intangible” heritage wealth. She has, for once, expressed her ambition “to include the artistic production of women from the South in national and international classifications”, with the aim of revealing its full aesthetic and civilizational significance.

In the same vain, feminine creation, she explained, is not an appendage of national culture; it is its living source, the one which illuminates and reinvents the world from a more benevolent and more human angle. And to add: “It seems to me that female creativity is not measured only by what is exhibited on stage or in the galleries, but by the imprint it leaves in the collective consciousness and in the social imagination”, before concluding with a strong message: “Supporting the creative woman is not a simple institutional duty, it is a bet on the future, that of a prosperous, enlightened and inspired Algeria”.

Artists and artisans from Timimoun, Tamanrasset, Illizi, Tindouf and Adrar offer visitors a show where a perfect osmosis is created between tradition and innovation. Inside the lounges, silhouettes draped in colorful melhafas or gandouras spun and undulated, with great panache. In the villa’s gardens, visitors rush to meet these creative women from the South, guardians of ancestral know-how. In every corner, art tells its story, in the texture of a carpet, the finesse of a jewel or the expressive and symbolic charge of a painting…

In the eyes of many, this inaugural day felt like an inner journey. “It’s as if the Sahara had moved to Algiers,” said Maya, a visitor fascinated by the richness of the exhibitions. “We feel the warmth of the South, but also its metaphysical depth,” she added, admitting her irresistible desire to leave with lots of wonders: bags, rugs, jewelry…

For his part, Karim, visibly enthusiastic, lit up at the idea of ​​attending the conferences, participating in the live workshops and savoring the discussions in the literary café, while discovering the theatrical performances, the fashion show and the masterclasses… “It seems like every corner of the villa hides a surprise! “, he declared, admiring the profusion and variety of the programming offered to visitors.

Until October 24, Villa Boulkine will continue to vibrate to the rhythm of the songs of the desert. This 10th edition of the National Cultural Festival of Women’s Creation already promises to be one of the most inspiring. An edition where the South, through its authenticity and creativity, dialogues with the North, and where each work, each note, each smile tells the same story, that of an Algerian South which remembers, which invents itself and which shines.