United Souls at Independence Week – Noisy-le-Sec, May 2-15, 2025
We are proud to associate United Souls , through the ART Weapon association, with an event as essential as Independence Week , organized by the City of Noisy-le-Sec from May 2 to 15, 2025. This initiative pays tribute to the struggles for independence of the peoples colonized by France and offers a space for reflection on their contemporary heritage.
United Souls, much more than a brand, is a duty of remembrance.
Our mission is clear: to help put words, faces, and awareness to a past that is too often hidden or deliberately ignored. We take an artistic and humanist approach to conveying these stories to today's youth.
For two weeks, Noisy-le-Sec will vibrate to the rhythm of gesticulated conferences, exhibitions, screenings, round tables and artistic performances , all focused on the memories of resistance and victories.
Wrestling Figures – An Open-Air Exhibition
In collaboration with independent artists and the clothing brand United Souls , the ART Weapon association is pleased to present the Figures de Lutte exhibition on the forecourt of Noisy-le-Sec town hall.
Photo taken during the Africlap festival @ Toulouse
This large-scale exhibition pays tribute to the women and men who stood up for justice, equality, and freedom, each in their own way, across the world and across time. Whether they were poets, musicians, strategists, or revolutionaries, their commitment has left a profound mark on history.
The portraits are accompanied by texts by historian Amzat Boukari-Yabara , author of Africa Unite! A History of Pan-Africanism . His perspective allows these journeys to be placed within a broader reflection on liberation struggles and decolonial resistance.
This exhibition is an invitation to reflect and to remember. It bears witness to the courage and perseverance of these icons in their quest for a more just world.
The exhibition highlights:
- Marielle Franco , Afro-Brazilian queer icon – Amandine Szczepaniak
- Amílcar Cabral , strategist of the anti-colonial struggle – Joy Hanoun
- Fela Kuti , the king of afrobeat – Joy Hanoun
- Nina Simone , activist diva – Marie-Claire Laffaire
- Oum Kalthoum , voice of Arab unity – Marie-Claire Laffaire
- Maya Angelou , Civil Rights Poet – Marie-Claire Laffaire
- James Baldwin , radical conscience – Camille Laforcenée
- Cheikh Anta Diop , revolutionary historian – Olivier Bonhomme
- Aimé Césaire , poet of Negritude – Olivier Bonhomme
- Rosa Parks , mother of civil rights – Marie-Claire Laffaire
- Miriam Makeba , voice of anti-apartheid – Amandine Szczepaniak
- Patrice Lumumba , martyr of African independence – Marie-Claire Laffaire
May 7 at 8 p.m., a key date:
Evening commemorating Dien Bien Phu , French colonial defeat in Indochina and symbol of anti-colonial resistance.
Screening of the film Fanon, yesterday, today , followed by a discussion with the director Hassane Mezine , Jean-Martial Mbah , doctor of contemporary history, and Olivier Fanon, son of the great thinker Frantz Fanon.
On this occasion, we hope to present Olivier Fanon with a unique t-shirt featuring his father , illustrated by Marie-Claire Laffaire , the first portrait artist to believe in the United Souls adventure. She is also the author of the founding portrait of our collection, that of Patrice Lumumba . A powerful moment, at the crossroads of transmission, art and heritage.
Find us at the following events:
- May 2: Inauguration
- May 3: Resistance Exhibition
- May 6: Screening of the film Colette and Justin
- May 7: Diên Bien Phu evening – screening & debate
- May 10: Musical meeting with Rocé
- May 12: Round table
- May 13: Meeting with Saïd Bouamama & Salah Hamouri
- May 15: Screening of the film La Flaca Alejandra
Join us! Discover our creations, connect with our collective, and proudly wear the faces of those who have changed the world.