Paris aujourd’hui (Paris today)
a performance by Fatma Cheffi
Drawing inspiration from Stéphanie Saadé’s It is… installation at P/////AKT and Bernard Heidsieck’s sound poem Vaduz (1974), Fatma Cheffi will perform a series of words and onomatopoeia derived from a range of minoritized languages spoken in and around Paris. Some of these words have officially entered the French language, while others linger on its borders. As they unfurl on a long roll of paper, they transform into a swirling poem of hospitality, symbolizing a space for encounter and connection. The performance delves into the power and presence of these words, highlighting the polymorphic and metamorphic nature of language itself.
Fatma Cheffi is an independent curator, artist, and Tunisian author based in Paris. She studied art history at the Sorbonne before pursuing a master’s degree in curating and art criticism at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. Her curatorial projects explore the intersections of contemporary art and literature, as well as the politics and imaginaries of language in diasporic contexts. Informed by decolonial theories and experimental literature, Cheffi’s artistic practice often draws from her lived experience and personal writings on language, love, and music. Her work takes shape through installations, objects, performances, and writing workshops.
