At the heart of African Exodus are over 80 pairs of shoes — transformed into instruments, tools, and markers of the journeys we all take. Each shoe tells a story, navigating the movement of people and their linguistic footprints within the African continent. Culminating with a breathtaking blend of African and Western choral traditions, African Exodus invites you to feel the weight and beauty of a shared human journey, where music, culture, and history converge. Isabelle Gaudefroy, Artistic Director of the Fondation Cartier, emphasizes that this performance embodies the Fondation’s forty-year commitment to presenting works that challenge our perspectives on art, culture, and the world : “we are proud to bring African Exodus to North America for the first time, and especially to the remarkable Perelman Performing Arts Center. With a shared mission of forging connections between inspiring artists and communities, while encouraging new ways of thinking, we believe this powerful performance will resonate with and inspire New York audiences, just as it has elsewhere in the world.”
Prior to each performance of African Exodus, musicians Micca Manganye and Volley Nchabeleng of The Centre for the Less Good Idea will treat the public to a special performance of Sounds of Limpopo in the Perelman Performing Arts Center lobby. This two-person musical performance uses instruments and bodies to replicate and pay tribute to the sounds and stories of Limpopo, South Africa’s northernmost province.