PILAR ASAP SESSION #5: Tumba

There are these moments when an apparent setback turns out into something even better than the original starting point. When one door closes, another one opens. That's just how we roll… This session was the result of such a surprising turn around. During the recording of the PILAR ASAP SESSIONS, Elise Kiambi supported us by conducting the first interviews. However, as the spoken word artist 'Tumba', Elise also embodies and embraces the ASAP festival theme "Fluid Identity". We are therefore very happy to share this session. Recorded unplanned, without preparation, driven by the moment. It became a very special one.

Elise "Tumba" Kiambi (1999) is a spoken word artist with Congolese and Angolese roots that have sprouted in Brussels. Retracing her steps and reconnecting to roots using imagery and imagination, she hopes to provide a safe space for her self-expression and that of others. Tumba regards the personal as public and explores the perception of Self through the eyes of Others. Starting from her own experiences with being uprooted, family ties, and cuts that are still healing, her work is a collection of afterthoughts that refuse to fit into the bigger picture.