Changing the Narrative, 2024 Photography Installation

This is a collaborative project of our Artivism and Amplifiers fellowship program, which builds  the capacity of young people from communities most impacted by the climate crisis and encourages meaningful collaboration between youth from the Global North and South.
 
The installation's theme is about the everyday life of environmental leaders and their relationship with their territories. The photographic installation mimics the methods used for public demonstrations and protests - by affixing everyday images and messages to the gallery wall.   Together, the images form a collage that becomes one immense image, echoing the massive amounts of images that pass before us about climate change.  Using this methodology also confronts the audience to think about the use and sale of "exotic" images of indigenous peoples and gives the lens of the camera back to the peoples with which they represent. 
 
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Merlin Mbula Malonga
Merlin is an indigenous youth from the Pygmée (Batwa) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They have  a degree in Computer Management and leadership roles in ANAPAC-RDC and the Network of Indigenous and Local Peoples for the Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa for the Congo. They  joined the program to collaborate, inspired by the need to secure indigenous and local communities' commitment to climate justice, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable livelihoods in the Dominican Republic of the Congo.
 
Oumayma El Haibour
Oumayma is a 27-year-old Moroccan finance professional residing in Casablanca with a master’s degree in finance, driven to contribute to meaningful solutions through collective action after witnessing environmental challenges in their community.
 
Saïra Marleine Flora Nguie
Marleine is a young indigenous woman, born in Gamboma, Congo, who is a dedicated development agent and human rights activist. They focus on indigenous rights as a member of Network of Indigenous and Local Peoples for the Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (REPALEAC) and coordinator of Community Action for Indigenous Women (ACFAC). Holding roles as an advisor to the Minister of Justice in the Republic of Congo and a member of Slow Food, she joined this program to exchange experiences, and champion climate justice in response to the escalating environmental challenges facing their country and the world.