VILLAGE KI-YI MBOCK

Situated on a beautiful wooded hill in the Riviera 2 district, the village is like an interlocking of various spaces, each devoted to a different activity. At the entrance, the "Campement des stars", where confirmed and amateur artists meet to exchange around a drink during the day or a braised fish in the evening. Then there is Ki-Yi Lines, a fashion design workshop that creates both stage and city costumes and where you can choose to have your own models made. Then comes the Ki-Yi Museum where you will find pieces from all over Africa as well as paintings and objects painted by Werewere Liking. The museum shop offers masks, statuettes, necklaces and bracelets as well as books, records and documentaries by/about the Ki-Yi Mbock troupe and its "star-awakening high priestess". Finally, there are the stages for performances and rehearsals, including the Douta Seck stage, with its Roman-style bleachers where, during the day, you can attend the students' rehearsals, and the Winnie Mandela stage, a theatre with a capacity of 250 seats. Shepherd and tireless promoter of this talented troupe of artists and of the values of Ki-Yi Mbock, Ben Mpeck, allias "l'impeckabl", multidisciplinary artist and modern griot fused into a poet and slam poet in his own time, will be pleased to welcome you and guide you through the mysteries of this small village like no other, which stands as a resistance fighter, a fervent defender of the democratic values of art and identity without borders.
The Ki-Yi Foundation is a troupe founded in 1985 by the charismatic Werewere Liking. The Ki-Yi Mbock group later became the training ground for artists from all over the sub-region. The Ki-Yi Mbock is an internationally renowned troupe whose artists are true to the name, which means "ultimate knowledge of the universe". The Centre is committed to making itself available to the general public, and more particularly to out-of-school and underprivileged children and young people. "We are totally autonomous, we don't receive any subsidies. Our system reproduces the traditional functioning of a rural African community. I take in street children, orphans, but also teenagers from wealthy families with artistic aspirations," explains Werewere Liking. The Ki-Yi village has become much more than just an art training centre - it has truly become 'the sacred wood in the city'.