Immersive Exhibition Reconstructs Congo Culture

Under the guidance of professor Victor Flores, Universidade Lusófona leads a pioneering project entitled "The Panorama of Congo", which stands out as an unprecedented journey of historical and cultural rediscovery. Funded by FILMEU RIT - Research | Innovation | Transformation, from the European Union, not only represents a significant technological advancement, but offers a unique immersive and educational experience, allowing audiences to delve into this country's historic past in a way never previously possible.

It is a large circular painting to be seen from a central platform and represents the landscapes of an 'African Eden', highlighting the main Belgian investments in public works, such as railways.

Commissioned and created by Belgian painters Alfred Bastien and Paul Mathieu for the International Exhibition in Ghent in 1913, it has impressive dimensions of 115 meters long by 14 meters high, and sought to promote young people's interest in the Belgian colony.

However, its size is also proportional to the scandal caused by the various reports of violence against the Congolese a few years earlier, and which the Belgian State wanted to erase. Throughout history, several works of art like this have been used as propaganda tools by imperialist regimes.

For all its controversy, the work was forgotten in museum reserves for almost a century and can now be considered sensitive heritage. It served as a starting point for the research project, which seeks to unveil and reinterpret the Congo Panorama in virtual reality, contextualizing it within its violent historical context and with artistic interventions by members of the Congolese diaspora, including Kongo Astronauts (Eléonore Hellio & ; Michel Ekeba), Deogracias Kihalu, Lukah Katangila, Hadassa Ngamba and Castélie Yalombo.

The resulting exhibition aims to stimulate contemporary debates and thoughts about decolonization, raising fundamental questions related to colonial heritage, memory and identity.

Don't miss the opportunity to visit the exhibition:

• Project “Congo Panorama: Unveiling the past with virtual reality”
• Temporary exhibition
• Date: February 25th to June 16th, 2024
• Location: Allosaurus Room | National Museum of Natural History and Science (Lisbon)