Jokko 2023
Artists from Dakar and Hartford collaborate at Trinity College
On November 6th and 7th, Trinity College welcomed two Senegalese artist-activists, the graffiti painter Docta and the hip-hop artist Simon Kouka, for a series of events with Trinity College students and local hip-hop and graffiti artists. The theme, jokko, means ‘connection’ or ‘exchange’ in Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal. Docta and Simon spoke to students in Francophone Studies, International Studies, Human Rights, and Urban Studies, about their activist art and role in the Y’en a marre movement in Senegal, which emerged in the 2010s as a grassroots organization to protest government corruption and injustice and facilitate youth voter registration. On Monday evening, Docta and Simon were joined by members of the local hip-hop group Bap Pack—including Hydro and Khaiim of “Self Suffice the RapOet” Kelly ’03—Lindaluz, Poptart, and Versatile Poetiq, for a panel discussion about how their urban art and activism transcends borders and disciplines. On Tuesday evening, Simon performed a fireside “rapped history” (histoire rappée) outside the Cornelia Center. Docta also collaborated with local graffiti artists Lindaluz and Poptart on a mural outside Trinfo Café. Professor Doyle Calhoun (Francophone Studies) and Professor Seth Markle (International Studies and History) organized the event, which was sponsored by Language and Culture Studies, International Studies, Human Rights, the Center for Urban and Global Studies, CHER, and the Dean’s Office.
