Art and Community

Ephemeral Sculpting: Art and Community Building

One afternoon, Olivier and Vivian Bauer, a friend and fellow Watson, went for a swim at Kebra Beach in Praia, Cape Verde. As the tide lowered, Olivier began modeling a human portrait using wet sand. Some Cape Verdean youth who were swimming nearby saw the work, got intrigued, and approached him for a closer look with questions of curiosity.

Moments later, what started as a random act of creation sparked a hours-long conversation that eventually morphed into an improvised sculpture workshop.

10 youth gradually joined in, and with brief technical assistance from Olivier, each created their own work. Together, they shared stories about culture, music, school, work, and life experiences.

Photo Courtesy, Vivian Bauer

Visit with Nepalese painter and printmaker Aman Marjan during the opening of his solo exhibition Homage

Dedicated to collecting and preserving tradtional Khmer art and crafts, Theam, who is also a national and internationally recognized Cambodian artist, walked me through his life journey from a turbulent childhood under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, young adulthood in exile in France, and his return to his home country where he built a large collection of Khmer traditional art and crafts, an art gallery, and a social hub in Siem Reap. Theam art gallery hires over 150 women from rural Cambodia

Olivier visited the Blue Art Center in Siem Reap where he met and chatted with its founder Svay Sareth and his spouse Yim Maline. They are both nationally and internationally recognized artists and educators.

Svay believes that it was his moral responsibility as an artist to give back to his community and country. Hence, as a commitment to his conviction, in 1994 with his colleagues he opened Phare Ponleu Selapak, an art school in Battambang, and in 2022 the Blue Art Center (pictured here) with his wife and former student at Phare Ponleu. The schools offer free art education to passionate and promising Cambodian youth.

Coffee break and dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist Monks at Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. This photo was taken during a 2-week long silent retreat.

While in Dakar, Olivier met M.K.O ( Meufs ki Ose which means women who dare) Collective, a group of female graffitti (street art) artists and dancers from Reunion Island. MKO collectif focus their work to mobilizing and empowering young women through grafitti and dance and by providing safe educational spaces.

Olivier at Amilcar Cabral Foundation, Praia, Cabo Verde

During a visit at The Museum of African Civilizations, Dakar, Senegal

Snippet from the filming of the short documentary No More Pain, a collaborative work with Cabo Verdean Clinical Psychologist and Poet Gerson Semedo, and songwriter Cassius Spencer, and filmmaker Yaxx Afrobread, in Achada, Praia, Cabo Verde

Participated in Mode et Savoir Faire workshop that was organized by Museum 19EM in collaboration with Muse Theodore Monord Ifan, Channel Paris, and Cheik Anta Diop University

During his yearlong stay in Cabo Verde, Senegal, Cambodia, Nepal, Seychelles, and Jordan, Olivier experienced how artists, activists, educators, policymakers, healers, spiritual leaders, and other citizens from all different professional and nationalities use art to navigate traumatic memories while fostering a culture of tolerance and reconciliation.

He visited art studios, galleries, schools, museums, memorials, NGOs, private and public entities such as The Museum of African Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal, the Museum of Jordanian Heritage in Irbid, Jordan, Amilicar Cabral Foundation in Cabo Verde, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia, and Kopan Buddhist Monastery in Nepal.

Olivier conducted and documented interviews with dozens of artists, activists, educators, and other individuals across various social and cultural sectors. He also planned and coordinated art and music projects such as mural paintings, song and video production, open mics, and jam sessions. Furthermore, he participated in music festivals, art exhibition and formal and informal dialogues about history, art, and responsibilities of artists in addressing past and emerging threats to community building, peace, and sustainable development.

Last but not least, Olivier invested in learning local languages such as Arabic, Creole, and Portuguese, and thanks to living and daily interacting with the local population, he gained a better understanding of local customs and traditions and histories.