Places categories: IVAM Centre Julio González

As part of the opening for the exhibition Otobong Nkanga. Craving for Southern Light, we will be presenting a music session by Oumoukala.

Oumoukala is a researcher, promotor of Okro, DJ, model and anthropologist born in Mauritania.

Her principal concerns revolve around music and sound as elements of identity and memory-related narrative. Enjoyment in the use and combination of these elements is fundamental in her work.

Okro is a liquid festive space. Our ultimate aim is to be a reference for a festive lifestyle and culture for people not represented in current club culture, and secondly to be a laboratory of diasporan African sounds in the creative arena. We try to create inclusive events focusing on revolutionary enjoyment for bodies not normally situated in the centre of society.

Okra, quimbombó or okro is a vegetable found in many African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Angola and others). Okra was taken to continents such as America by African slaves. For many years in countries like the United State, it was considered a food for the lower classes. It’s a vegetable that unites and celebrates Africa and the African diaspora in the north of the world. This gives the space its name and main vision: using African electronic music as a means to unite and resist through pleasure, celebration and the collective creation of black bodies.

The third of our IVAM Estiu sessions is part of the opening of the exhibition Otobong Nkanga. Craving for Southern Light. For the occasion, the piece Constellation to Appease will be performed by the artist and three singers.

During the exhibition opening and cocktail, Oumoukala, from the Okro Fam collective, will perform a music session focusing on sound as an element of memory and narration of identity.

Oumoukala is a researcher, promotor of Okro, DJ, model and anthropologist born in Mauritania. Her principal concerns revolve around music and sound as elements of identity and memory-related narrative. Enjoyment in the use and combination of these elements is fundamental in her work.

Discos Oldies has been a reference for Valencian music and culture since Carmen and Pepe opened shop over forty years ago. They were soon joined by Vicente and Isabel, and the four together built up a legacy like few shops in the country.

That legacy passed into our hands on 1 January 2022, when Andreu, Chema, Pere and Mario took over the singular space. Our idea in doing so was to take the Oldies brand to a new level and reach many new people who, because of their ages or backgrounds, didn’t yet know it.

In this new phase we’ve been organising showcases, gigs and even festivals with bands like La Paloma, Semana Santa, Joe Pask, Depresión Sonora, Menta, Mausoleo, Bernal, Tórtel, Luna Valle o L´Últim Europeu, Futuro Terror, Margarita Quebrada, Mueveloreina, Calivvla, Amy, Concepción, and DJs Lucía Gea and Finalversion3.

We’ve also started DJing as Discos Oldies DJs. We play all kinds of music at our sessions, for all tastes, it’s a reflection of our personalities and collections. Different but complementary.

For today we’ve prepared a selection with Alberto Feijóo and his storage space.