Christelle Ahia Kamanan
Conceptual artist - Writer - Cultural Entrepreneur
photo credits: Adele Dalla Pozza
C.A.ML.K – Christelle Ahia Kamanan is a creative, born in France, raised in the Ivory Coast and France, and now based in Berlin, Germany.
She works as a movement and conceptual artist, writer and cultural entrepreneur.
Through her activities, she investigates the African heritage on the continent and in the diaspora by focusing on art and cultural expressions.
As a third-culture child, she is used to navigating through cultures and languages, observing their
metamorphosis and going beyond stereotypes.
After studying medicine (first cycle - PCEM1 & 2) at the University of Rouen, France, C.A.ML.K pursued her passion for art and culture. She studied Art, Literature, and Languages (French curriculum L.E.A). She holds a Bachelor with Honours from the University of Strasbourg, France (2013). C.A.ML.K enlarged her skills in Communication and Digital Media by attending several workshops. To name a few, Sustainable Communication by ADEME and History of Communication by the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Christelle-Ahia worked as a solo entrepreneur in the media and marketing industry until 2021. Through her online media agency KomLeBaobab she accompanied several startups, especially in tourism industry, entrepreneurs and organisations. Thanks to her expertise, she offered tailored PR-services for French and German markets. She also facilitated many workshops focusing on social media.
As she felt more confident in her career, Christelle-Ahia reconnected with her passion for dancing and the Caribbean connection to Africa, particularly Cuba/West Africa. She already researched African influences in Cuban music during her Bachelor years. Practising Cuban dances with African roots has definitely been the catalyst to change her professional path.
When The Drums Call is her first work as a movement artist.
In 2022, she co-founded the collective Moving Archives, investigating dance narratives and perspectives from the South.
Christelle-Ahia currently develops her first solo performance, Disruption//Transformative Patterns (Working Title).
Writing has always played a significant role in her expressive set.
From PR and marketing texts to press articles, essays or novels, Christelle-Ahia enjoys various writing styles.
She wrote and self-published a marketing guide e-book in French. Also, her essays or press articles are regularly published in collective publications.
You may get an idea of her writings on her Medium account as well.
Last but not least, Christelle-Ahia is the founder and editor of the online media AMANIE Magazine, dedicated to artistic expressions of Africa and its diaspora.