As part of Black History Month 2026, africologneLOCAL is presenting the exhibition #KIMUNTU by photographer and filmmaker Benga Mavinga for the first time in Cologne. The photographs, taken in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are shown as prints and unfold in four chapters as a diasporic heroine’s journey. Accompanied by polyphonic audio fragments from Cologne’s Afro-diasporic community, a sensual narrative space about community, memory, spirituality and solidarity is created. KIMUNTU – a philosophy of life of the Bakongo – stands for cohesion and collective experience and reflects the values of africologneLOCAL.
7. + February 8, 2026, open in each case from 3 – 8 p.m. at Siebachstraße 55, Cologne-Nippes. Supported by the City of Cologne.
Benga Mavinga (he/him) is a German-Congolese photographer and filmmaker. He studied time-based media with a focus on film at Mainz University of Applied Sciences after successfully completing his training as a media designer. In his artistic work, he deals with communities, identities and memory. He is also a board member of the German-Congolese Institute and works as a curator for the Africa Film Festival Cologne.
Yaël Koutouan (curation), studied theater studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Koutouan has been writing as a freelance author for Theater der Zeit since February 2023. She has been working as a theater educator at the COMEDIA Theater in Cologne since the beginning of 2025. Yaël Koutouan is also a member of the jury for the Berlin Theatertreffen 2027. Since 2025 she has been a freelancer at Team Timster (KiKa) and is responsible for the local program of the africologneFESTIVAL as curator.
