The Lafleur & Bogaert duo merges two unique worlds. Michel Lafleur, a Haitian portrait artist celebrated locally for decorating Port-au-Prince barbershops and originally trained to paint tap tap façades—Port-au-Prince’s ornate small buses—joins forces with Tom Bogaert, a Belgian artist and former human rights lawyer with extensive experience across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

They likely wouldn’t have met without The Ghetto Biennale, an initiative started in 2009 that pairs international artists with those from the Grand Rue neighborhood, known as Atis Rezistans (resistance artists). Since 2013, Lafleur & Bogaert’s collaboration has been the most sustained outcome of that event.

Their art directly engages with local realities, often using found objects and materials. Motivated by a sense of justice, their practice addresses current precarities and historical injustices, developing a unique artistic language infused with resourcefulness and humor. Their vibrant, polyphonic collaboration celebrates cultural syncretism that challenges traditional rules.

They are internationally recognized and have received acclaim for their projects with Atis Rezistans / Ghetto Biennale at documenta fifteen, earning praise from international and local media. Their works have been shown worldwide.

Willy Ilumbo

Willy Ilumbo Kanyange is a renowned Congolese multi-instrumentalist, composer, instrument maker, and cultural advocate based in Lubumbashi. He is widely recognized for safeguarding and promoting Congolese musical traditions. Ilumbo’s ongoing project, La Traversée Sonore, follows the transatlantic journeys and transformations of Congolese musical instruments across the Atlantic—and back.