Gumboot Dance and Click Songs – the Afrogreeks – Døcumatism
inspired by the works of Simone Leigh
Friday 25 July 2025 – Sunday 2 November 2025
On the occasion of the extension of the exhibition Anatomy of Architecture by the internationally acclaimed African American sculptor Simone Leigh through Wednesday, 5 November, the rich program of parallel events concludes on Sunday, 2 November, with three workshops exploring Black female identity through music, dance, and sculpture in collaboration with the collective community ongoing project the AfroGreeks. Each workshop invites the public to take part in experiential processes that highlight art as a space of memory, care, and collective expression.
The workshop Gumboot Dance & Click Songs focuses on the collective experience of the African diaspora, as reflected in the works presented in the exhibition. Simone Leigh invites the audience into a space of deep embodied memory, where the Black female form is no longer depicted as an object of observation, but as a vessel of knowledge, trauma, communication, care, and resistance. The body becomes both a monument and a sanctuary—a space where cultural identity is preserved and redefined.
Through voice, movement, and rhythm, the members of The Gumboot Trio help participants connect with untold narratives, listen to their own bodies, and engage in embodied communication. Participants will learn about the history and basic patterns of South African Gumboot dance, which has shaped and continues to influence female identity, as well as explore the tradition of click songs and how the Black experience of Apartheid resonates with Simone Leigh’s sculptures and her representation of women.
Design & Implementation: The Gumboot Trio — Zandile Ngubane, Irene Adwoa Sackey, and Jane Njeri Mwaura in collaboration with anthropologist Grace Chimela Eze Nwoke, for the ongoing collective project the AfroGreeks by the Døcumatism collective
