Wildgroei Coven, the collective, consisting of Céline Klara Gaza and Rose-Myrtha Fortuna Vercammen, was born after both artists collaborated during a residency in Antwerp where they realised that their ways of working were quite similar. Recognizing a shared desire to delve deeper and share their work with the world, they are now developing this collective project as creators, performers and spaceholders.
The 2 of them have different personal and artistic backgrounds, but enjoy working around the same themes, including sisterhood, spirituality, witchcraft, femininity, sensuality, natural elements, roots and ancestry, among others.
As an artist, Rose Myrtha conceives her work as decolonial, multisensory and ecological experiments based on the history of Afro-diasporic spiritualities with a decidedly critical revision of colonial narratives. For her, decoloniality means creating bonds of community and care, rooted in the struggle for justice for the earth. In this way, her work is a work of communal weaving.
Céline is a certified Mindfulness trainer and a multidisciplinary performer. She uses meditation, movement and voice practices to counter injustices, explore and transform (racial and other) trauma. Her spirituality is fundamental in her artistic work. It has an important place in the creative process and during performances. Moreover, it allows her to distance herself from prevailing conceptions of art.
The work they are creating is ritualistic, ceremonial and expresses their different artistic disciplines.
They want to create a concept where art & healing belong together. They bring together their artistic and spiritual practices. They want to share their own healing tools with the audience, hopefully giving some resilience to people who would recognise themselves in their stories.
CREDITS:
van Céline Klara Gaza en Rose-Myrtha Vercammen Fortuna met Madiha Figuigui, Mathieu Charles, Joyce Yusuff, Léopold Gaza, Špela Tušar, Séraphine Boyeleba Balehen, Audrey Ikirezi, Ubukho Bethu, Elodie Lebrun medegefinancierd door de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, de Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie gecoproduceerd door het Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond, Arenbergse Schouwburg, Anaku vzw gesteund door Batârd Festival, TransfoCollect vzw, GC De Kriekelaar, Beursschouwburg, WipCoop, Rataplan, Zinnema, Kuchukua Hatua vzw, Mindfulness by Céline en Beyza Taspinar