Name of the Artwork
La Passerelle de Bessengue, 2005
Location and Accessibility
The artwork is located at the perpendicular side of the Boulevard de la République at the entrance of the Vallée Bessengue crossing a thin branch of the Mboppi River.
Level of Significance
Proximity artwork – Architectural installation – Community-embedded work
About the Artworks
La Passerelle de Bessengue is a wooden bridge with an iron handrail, painted in different colours, each one representing people of different ethnic groups holding hands. La Passerelle has been designed by the Cameroonian artist Alioum Moussa. It was initially conceived as a cooperation development project funded by the French Institut Régional de Coopération-Développement d’Alsace (Ircod-Alsace), the Municipality of Douala I, and doual’art. doual’art, as project coordinator, run a community-based approach involving the local Development Community of Bessengue-Akwa (CDBA) from the conceptualization phase to the project production. During the process, an artistic contest was organized in order to provide La Passerelle with aesthetical features. On five projects submitted, the selection felt on Alioum Moussa. His proposal arouse among the community a critical discussion and self-reflection about historical conflicts between the autochthonous and no-native populations. The success of Moussa’ s project was to create a link between art and community experiences, documenting shared intentions to promote and pursue a peaceful collaboration for future generations. La Passerelle has been officially inaugurated during the SUD 2007 and restored two times. In 2009, Malika Ouedraogo and Cecile Demessine repainted the handrail. In the occasion of the SUD 2013, the Municipality of Douala has funded the replacement of a handrail side, fallen into the Mboppi River, and some broken wood planches.
About the location
Bessengue is a small popular district divided in five blocks enclosed between two watercourses. It is located in a depression valley suffering of disastrous floods during rain seasons. La Passerelle has disclosed the block 1 of Bessengue to one of the busiest roads of Douala, facilitating the circulation of people, vehicles and the provision of public services. Its position at the entrance of the neighbourhood has contributed to open a square between La Passerelle and the firsts houses, commonly known as Vallée Bessengue. Nowadays this space has become an important landmark for locals providing a meeting place surrounded by others art installations.