Luxury Indian Ocean LUXURY INDIAN OCEAN #7 EDITION 2018

© VAST, Opus Art Maurice : …et maintenant ? Krishna Luchoomun est optimiste : « Il y a actuellement un intérêt croissant pour les artistes africains, c’est le bon moment pour Maurice de promouvoir ses artistes sur la scène artistique internationale ». De même, Charlie d’Hotman affirme que le nombre de collectionneurs à Maurice, proportionnellement au nombre d’habitants, est encourageant. Enfin, nous l’avons vu, plusieurs initiatives sont en marche, et certaines mesures d’incitation fiscale ont récemment été proposées par le gouvernement mauricien. Qu’espérer de plus ? Pour Salim Currimjee, « la base » serait de créer un musée d’art mauricien, mais il faut également inviter des commissaires étrangers afin qu’ils puissent identifier les artistes de niveau international. Krishna Luchoomun suggère quant à lui d’organiser une enchère annuelle qui contribuerait à établir la cote des artistes locaux et stimulerait la vente ; The Third Dot se bat pour une professionnalisation des pratiques, en développant notamment à Maurice le mécénat – ce qui leur permet d’offrir aux artistes qu’elles exposent des conditions optimales (éclairage, catalogue etc.). Enfin, les Mauriciens et les entreprises mauriciennes ont un rôle à jouer : en montrant de l’intérêt pour les artistes, en se déplaçant aux expositions et, lorsque c’est possible, en acquérant des œuvres. La plupart de ces idées peuvent s’appliquer aux cas réunionnais et seychellois. Mais Maurice peut s’inspirer de La Réunion sur un point précis : la médiation culturelle. Si Salim Currimjee, Charlie d’Hotman et Porlwi – entre autres – jouent un rôle actif auprès des jeunes afin de les sensibiliser à l’art contemporain, il est primordial que les institutions publiques et privées exposent davantage leurs étudiants à la création locale et internationale. The unifying agents Located at 51, SSR Street in Port-Louis, the Institute of Contemporary Art Indian Ocean (ICAIO) aims at giving Mauritian people free access to high-grade artworks produced by regional artists. Inside these 128 historic walls, students from the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and local ZEP schools, international figures as well as art lovers come across each other upon the numerous exhibitions, workshops and conferences. ICAIO’s founder, Salim Currimjee, is not the only one to foster such encounters. Alicia Maurel and Laetitia Lor have recently opened an exhibition hall a few blocks away, under the name of “The Third Dot”. In addition to the promising line-up of Mauritian and Reunionese artists they represent, the two ladies have initiated residency programs in partnership with Reunion’s Opus Art gallery. “We are stronger when we work under the Indian Ocean banner. Despite the gaps between us, we have a shared history, which makes this community of art practices particularly interesting,” explains Alicia. “We need to organise our artists in order to achieve international credibility, and this should be done on the regional level”, adds Laetitia. The Third Dot will soon launch a call for projects to all Indian Ocean artists who are willing to participate in the second edition of the Borderline project. Likewise, many artists are partial to regional exchanges. In 2015, Reunionese graffitist Jace surrounded himself with a team of regional artists to paint the sails of Vezo pirogues in Madagascar. Although he provides residence for local and foreign artists in his gallery, Jace is not convinced by the idea of an art movement specific to the Indian Ocean, in light of the diversity of expressions and subjects. As for Béatrice Binoche, director of the Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) in Reunion, she rather believes in a creation of the South, based on common post-colonial issues. “Our artists do not necessarily come together on the forms and mediums they used, but rather on the questions, the messages they try to get across”, she explains. Charlie d’Hotman, director of Imaaya art gallery, talks about the influence of island living on regional artists and a form of creoleness in the colours. Finally, mention must be made of the Porlwi Festival. Over the last three years, Astrid Dalais, Guillaume Jauffret and their team have raised unprecedented enthusiasm for contemporary art among the Mauritian population at large. Both local and international artists have contributed to the festival, with the strong involvement of regional institutions reflecting the unifying ambition of the artistic committee

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