Black History month exists because of erasure but I would rather celebrate in a month that isn’t the coldest of the year!
Portmanteau Esmé
What kind of person walks into an art show, doesn’t look where they’re going and treads on an
art installation that is stuck to the floor? Me, that’s who!
Of course, I apologised profusely to the artist, with prayer hands and everything. Mind you, she didn’t seem that bothered, probably because she had been day-drinking (It’s the law when the drinks are free for the artist). I think I’d trodden on breasts stuck to the floor, I don’t know; I was too embarrassed to hang around to find out.
If you read my last post (if you haven’t, why not? And also, shame!) you’ll know that my self-created Black History month in August was postponed – as it happens, to the September just because the weather was finally nice. So, I went in search of a poster child for it. Cue me – at the FATart Women in Arts exhibition, – on the lookout for something that would grab me.
Last year’s Women in Arts was an eclectic affair, with all kinds of installations and exhibits from women from different walks of life. I couldn’t wait to attend this year since, judging from past experience, it had been electrifying and diverse in age, race and background. However, this year – like most things that build their image on the back of cultural diversity – it had become less diverse, thus, less inspiring. It was more of a staid, cliquey offering from a clique of Karens, or in this case, since we’re in Switzerland, Karins.
I had all but given up hope until the very end when I came upon Parisian artist Marianne C Sané. Hidden waaaay in the back of the exhibition, her youthful energy, unassuming manner and killer blazer were a breath of fresh, proverbial, air.
She shone like a charismatic bright light, engaging with everyone and answering all our inane questions. To be fair, I would have lost my mind after the fifth person asked me how long I’ve been painting. However, she was the epitome of grace under bullshiz.
The Artist At Work and Play 
Sané’s work, which draws from a childhood in Senegal, is bold and colourful, with an elegant aesthetic. It is simultaneously whimsical but relatable. I always find it refreshing to find conversational pieces of work that don’t leave me drained and make me wish I had just sat on the sofa and Netflixed.
All works ©Marianne C Sané 
Therefore…Behold! Marianne C. Sané…
The poster child for Portmanteauesme’s Self-Created Black History Month In September Because The Weather Has Been Shiz (PES-CBHMISBTWHBS for short!). It’s a mouthful, I know. But isn’t a mouthful sometimes worth it? Heh-heh…
Cheers!