For this edition of Art-O-Rama, Les filles du calvaire presents a solo show by Maya-Inès Touam. Suspended between the shores of the Mediterranean, her work draws on photography, sculpture, and installation to interrogate an intimate yet postcolonial memory. Objects become bearers of stories— silent witnesses of migration, heritage, and the invisible threads connecting cultures.
Following a residency in Senegal supported by the Fonds de dotation de la Compagnie Fruitière, the artist expanded her research on African diasporas and postcolonial narratives. Still life symbolism and references to Matisse permeate the booth’s scenography, which echoes his studio through compositions
of herbariums, vegetal frescoes, and found objects.
Blending anthropology with a poetic visual language, Maya-Inès Touam weaves connections between art history and contemporary concerns, between Western forms and Mediterranean legacies. In resonance with the ethos of Art-O-Rama,
her work creates a space where memory, identity, and creation converge.
These works are the result of an immersive artist residency carried out in the heart of the Grands Domaines of Senegal in Saint-Louis in 2024, with the support of the Compagnie Fruitière Endowment Fund, which also made their exhibition at Art-o-rama possible.
The Compagnie Fruitière Endowment Fund
The Endowment Fund was created in 2012 by Compagnie Fruitière. Chaired by Marie-Pierre Fabre, it is now primarily committed to promoting access to healthy and sustainable food that respects both people and the environment.
Since 2018, the Endowment Fund has also developed a program of residencies and artistic exchanges between Marseille and various African countries, enabling artists to take time away from the constraints of daily life to devote themselves to experimenting with their practice.
