Carroussa Sonore: Newark

Younes Baba-Ali 

Express Newark welcomes multimedia artist Younes Baba-Ali as its first international Artist-in-Residence. Baba-Ali is a Moroccan-born artist based in Brussels who engages the public by mixing technology, objects, sound, video, and photography with political, social, and ecological issues. Throughout his residency, he developed the performance and installation “Carroussa Sonore,” which translates to “sounding cart,” engaging those who live and work in Newark. Originally, the “carroussa” was a makeshift vending cart used by merchants on the streets of Morocco and other North African cities to sell recitals of the Quran or sermons from popular preachers. In this iteration, local artists and students worked closely with Baba-Ali to create site-specific sound artworks performed throughout Newark neighborhoods by street vendors and performance artists. “Carroussa Sonore” departs from a religious act and becomes an intervention that archives urban soundscapes, abstract noises, and alternative narratives throughout the African Diaspora.

Participating Artists

Ali Motamedi (Ir/Us), Amélie Laurence Fortin (Can/Pl), Binta Diaw (sn/it), Fajr Kegler (Us), Haochun Yang & KeKeZ(Chn/Us), Jamilah Malika Abu-Bakare (Nga/Us), Khaled Jarrar (Pse/Us), Laïssa C. Alexis (Hti/Us), Magali A Cult (Hkg/Us), Nene Aïssatou Diallo (Gin/Us), Paul Pinto (Us), Richard Garet (Ury/Us), Shara Lunon (Us), The Just Now Orchestra (Ukr/Us), Tiffany Salas (Us), Vanessa Blake (Us), Wannes Deneer (Be), and Younes Baba-Ali (Ma/Be)

Read the Catalogue

Schedule of Performances :

NEWARK – February 25, 2025, 10.00 AM – 1.00PM

Departure: Express Newark

NEW YORK – February 28, 2025, 6.00 PM – 8.00 PM

Departure: Flanders House Destination: Fridman Gallery

Followed by the exhibition opening of Cities and Eyes (7.30 PM – 9.00 PM), curated by Anouk Focquier (Berserk Art Agency).

NEW YORK – March 2, 2025, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Departure: Fridman Gallery Destination: Lenfest Center for the Arts

Followed by the panel discussion: Inviting Imagination: Artistic Generosity as Resistance to Exclusivity (3:00–5:00 PM) moderated by Katharina Otto-Bernstein.

NEWARK – MAY, 2025

Departure: Express Newark More details on the final performance will be announced via expressnewark.org

Produced by: Express Newark

54 Halsey Street, 2nd Floor

Newark, NJ

Collaborating venues:

Fridman Gallery 169 Bowery, NYC

Lenfest Center for the Arts, Columbia University 615 W 129th St, NYC

Flanders House New York Times Building, 620 8th Ave, 38th Floor, NYC

Project collaborators

Alliyah Allen (Production), Hervé S. Denis (Videography), Abigail Geronimo (Assistance/Mediation), Fajr Kegler (Performance/Mediation),  Yucef Mayes (Mediation), and Aude Tournaye (Photography)

Special Thanks to: Salamishah Tillet, Nick Kline, Anthony Alvarez, Alex Dika Seggerman, Wendell Marsh, Sandrine Colard, Iliya Fridman, Seth Cluett, Miya Masaoka, Pat Sweeting, Yvonne Shirley, Karen Bernard, Anonda Bell, Bryant Lebron, Gwen Thomas, Juan Giraldo, and Gil Hochberg.