Fez — As Morocco hosts the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, the tournament’s continental energy is finding expression beyond football pitches. In Rabat, the international artistic residency “Couleurs et Voix du Changement” (Colors and Voices of Change), taking place from January 2 to 12, places African artists at the heart of this broader celebration, transforming sporting momentum into a shared space of creation and reflection.
The residency brings together three artists whose practices reflect different geographies, generations, and artistic languages across Africa: Laila Benhalima from Morocco, Zulu M’Baye from Senegal, and Frank Dikisongele from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Together, they engage in a collective creative process that echoes the values carried by AFCO2025 — unity, solidarity, and continental pride.
A pan-African project aligned with CAN 2025
Hosted in the Moroccan capital, the residency brings together artists from Morocco, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Belgium. The initiative is led by the Saint-Gilles commune and is rooted in a broader framework of Euro-African cultural cooperation, while also emphasizing South–South exchange across the continent.
In echo with the federating power of AFCON2025, the project encourages the circulation of artists and ideas, fosters intercultural dialogue, and connects African and diasporic talents. Its ambition is to contribute to the visibility of an Africa that is plural, creative, and connected, both within the continent and beyond it.
Artists at the center of the project
A Rabat-born painter with more than three decades of practice, Laila Benhalima develops a singular visual universe at the crossroads of dreamlike imagery, spiritual symbolism, and inner exploration. Her work, deeply rooted in African references and Moroccan craftsmanship, uses vibrant color, hybrid figures, and symbolic bestiaries to explore femininity, emancipation, and transmission. She conceives art as both a therapeutic and societal tool, and her participation anchors the residency firmly in its Moroccan context.
Zulu M’Baye, a Senegalese visual artist, approaches creation through questions of memory, identity, and social transformation. His practice explores the relationship between humans and territory using organic and symbolic forms, often shaped by collective histories. Actively involved in international artistic cooperation, M’Baye places exchange and dialogue at the center of his work, embodying the project’s pan-African vision.
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Frank Dikisongele brings an expressive and socially engaged painting practice that interrogates identity, the human condition, and contemporary realities. His work is part of the vitality of the Congolese art scene, while also developing a personal language rooted in history and collective memory. Alongside his studio practice, Dikisongele is committed to mentoring younger artists, reinforcing the project’s emphasis on transmission.
Art extending the spirit of AFCON 2025
Like football, art operates here as a universal language: whereas AFCON 2025 mobilizes crowds and emotions, “Couleurs et Voix du Changement” mobilizes narratives, imagination, and memory.
The residency includes daily artistic workshops in Rabat from January 3 to 9, targeting young people and students. All stages of the process are filmed, creating a living archive that documents artistic dialogue and questions the place of African artists within a continent in motion.
The residency concludes with a public exhibition opening on Saturday, January 10, at 3 p.m., at the Galerie Mohamed El Fassi, under the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication. Bringing artists, cultural actors, diplomats, and the public together, the event affirms Morocco’s role – AFCON 2025 – as a space where Africa is celebrated not only through sport, but through culture, creation, and shared meaning.
