KAM (noble): Immersive and interactive video art installation. Photo credit Jan Schmitz
Between June and October 2025, Cameroonian visual artist and artivist Eric Takukam was invited to Germany for a high-level research and creation residency focused on the theme “Decolonizing the Digital.”
The residency took place at the prestigious Akademie für Theater und Digitalität in Dortmund, as part of the Beyond Gravity festival, organized by Theater im Depot in collaboration with the Akademie and Kultur Witten.
This invitation marks a major milestone in the artist’s international trajectory. Eric Takukam is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of digital and immersive art in Francophone Africa. His work critically explores the intersections between African culture, technology, spirituality, and leadership.
A Research Residency Bridging African Heritage and Immersive Technologies
Over several months, Eric Takukam conducted in-depth research on the decolonization of digital narratives, questioning how contemporary technologies can integrate African ancestral knowledge without folklorization or erasure.
This research led to the creation of KAM (Noble – The First Steps to Leadership), an immersive and interactive installation inspired by Bamiléké cultural heritage.
The artist was accompanied by curator Viviane Maghela and digital artist and programmer Enya Obert, whose contributions enriched the dialogue between artistic creation, curatorial writing, and interactive technologies.
KAM (Noble): Transmitting Ancestral Wisdom Through Immersive Art
Presented to the public during the Beyond Gravity Festival (October 1–5, 2025), the installation KAM explores the initiatory journey through which a child, within the Bamiléké community, becomes a king.
Through 21 rites and initiations, the work narrates how an individual grows into an exemplary leader—without destroying the environment or harming others.
The public interacts with the installation. Photo credit Jan Schmitz
Audience interaction was achieved through traditional drums and balafons brought from Cameroon and transformed into living interfaces. The body, sound, and gesture become universal languages, connecting past and future, Africa and Europe, tradition and innovation.
The exhibition opened with an inaugural performance titled “Suh Pepong,” a ritual and artistic act marking the audience’s entry into a sacred space, both technological and spiritual.
The performance “Suh Pepong” during the opening of the KAM installation exhibition at the Beyond Gravity Festival. Photo credit Jan Schmitz
Through this residency, Eric Takukam affirms a powerful vision: digital technologies can become tools of transmission, healing, and cultural sovereignty when conceived from African realities and cosmologies.
