An evening of drum activation, artist dialogue, and shared food – honoring African musical traditions and community!
*A Djaliis a historian, storyteller and musician, who preserves tradition and culture in West African societies.
Join us for a powerful day of music, movement, and shared meal as we celebrate the activation of three newly created Senegalese drums and honor the cultural traditions that brought them into being.
These drums were crafted during the Senegalese Animal-to-Drum Making Workshop held April 26 at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, where participants collaborated with visiting Senegalese Djali*/ Traditional artists and local culture workers, to transform the hide of a cow born and raised on the ranch into instruments of music and ceremony. With the support of local artists and culture workers, the three communal drums created during the workshop will now be activated for the first time at the Mendocino Art Center.
The event will begin with an artist talk with the visiting instructors, Saliou M’Boup and Adama Diouf, and collaborators who helped guide the drum-making process.
Soon after local artists, African Dance and drumming performers, will join our visiting instructors in a procession and rhythmic activation, bringing the newly made drums into motion through collective music and movement. This moment marks the beginning of the handmade drums’ lives in Mendocino County, where one will remain as a cultural resource for the Art Center – continuing to share African musical traditions with the community for years to come.
Following the activation, guests will be nourished by a community meal curated and provided by local chef (TBA).
Together we will reflect on the craft, cultural lineage, and spiritual significance of the drums, and the journey from animal to instrument to community offering. This evening celebrates not only the creation of new instruments, but also the relationships between land, animal, craft, culture, and community!
Featuring:
Senegalese Artist Saliou M’Boup and Adama Diouf. They will be joined by local artists and culture workers who are connected to MAC (TBA).
Timeline:
Artist Talk – 4:00p - 5:00pm
Activation (procession and performance) – 5:00p - 5:30pm
Community Meal – 5:30m - 7pm
* If attending the Activation & Community Meal feel free to bring percussion/spiritual instruments of your own.
$60 - $100 (Sliding scale for activation/performance and meal)
About the Instructor(s):
Saliou M’Boup is a multi-instrumental musician specializing in West African and Senegalese drumming, songwriting, and teaching. Based in Los Angeles, CA, he continues his family legacy of playing and teaching West African music which he learned from his mother and father at a young age. His father, Bara M’Boup, is a Senegalese storyteller of oral tradition (griot) and master drummer who traveled to America as the director of music for Ballet Bougarabou. His mother Mindy is a prolific dancer and student of the illustrious Guinean dancer, Youssouf Koumbassa.
Saliou co-created the djembe drum curriculum that is used in public schools around California and teaches African drumming in the Los Angeles Unified School System and plays with Adama Diouf in the musical group, “The Mafe Ensemble.”
Adama Diouf recently moved to Los Angeles from Senegal where he is a drum instructor in the local public schools. In Senegal, Adama spent his younger years traveling the country performing healing ceremonies and learning the history of each traditional song and rhythm. When a member of the community fell ill, their family would gather some money and ask Adama and his group to come and heal the afflicted individual with their music. Adama was also an expert in “drum butchery” or breaking down livestock to make drums. Adama currently performs with his cousin Saliou M’Boup in the musical group, “The Mafe Ensemble.”