History In The Making

History in the Making features Dolet Malalu and Pamela Tulizo, both from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Living between Goma and Kinshasa, their works, while rooted in

the history of their country, explore issues with a global resonance. History in the Making highlights what two contemporary Congolese artists have to say about a land with a singular journey who had 5 different names and 6 different flags over 120 years. “Independent State of Congo” (1885 – 1908) when it was the private property of the Belgian King Leopold II, followed by “Belgian Congo” (1908 – 1960) as a Belgian colony, “Republic of Congo” (1960 – 1963) at the territory’s independence, “Democratic Republic of the Congo “(1963 – 1971) to differentiate itself from the other Congo (Brazzaville), “Zaïre” (1971 – 1997) during the Mobutu area, and back to “Democratic Republic of the Congo” since 1997. This vast country of 2,345,410 sq. km, nested in the Congo basin in the heart of the African continent, shares its borders with nine countries. Flanked by mountain ranges to the East and South, veined by more than fifty lakes, crossed by the Congo river – the second longest on the African continent after the Nile – and home to an exceptional tropical rain forest and mineral subsoil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a gift from God, or an unbearable burden according to many of its citizens. Despite being plagued by over a century of colonial violence, military coups and authoritarian regimes, Congolese have learned the hard way how to adapt to a hostile political context. Decade after decade, they keep on overcoming the challenging economic and social framework they live in. Their natural resourceful mindset enables them to respond with an ongoing capacity of resistance lead by an unwavering creativity.