Since May 2018, a brand-new concept has arrived in Martinique: the Kilti cultural baskets. The idea is simple: a bag or tote bag filled with works by artists as well as event tickets.
Behind this project is Naïna, a young woman from Martinique who has returned home. “I worked in Lille, and during a ”night of organizations,’ I saw one called Kilti—which means ‘culture’ in Creole. I went to check it out, thinking it was a Creole organization! But it turned out not to be at all—it was a group of girls who had this idea for a cultural basket and wanted to call it ‘culture.’ They looked it up online and thought it sounded pretty in Creole, so they chose ‘kilti’! Today, they’re very happy that the project is taking shape in a region where Creole is spoken.”
A truly local “100%” cultural gift basket concept, featuring works by quite original local artists and themed outings. The bag itself is a work of art, since a drawing contest is held to determine whose design will appear on it. The screen printing is done locally.
Mother Nature Takes Center Stage!
Following an initial basket themed around Aimé Césaire, the association’s members chose “Mother Nature” as their theme.
“The environment is at the center of current events both here and around the world. We’ve recently been affected by hurricanes, earthquakes, Sargassum, and sandstorms—many things that are connected to nature. We’re seeing plenty of citizen-led initiatives springing up around this issue as well. What’s more, Martinique is so beautiful that we need to highlight Mother Nature. So we decided this was a good theme, especially for raising public awareness about this issue,” Naïna explains.
This second basket contained a music CD by an artist who has a very strong connection to nature. It also included paintings titled “amer nature” by Tomeska and works by Drey and Ondine. There were also outings, including one to the Jardins Partagés de Trènelle.
The bag is reusable, and you can put whatever you want in it: a laptop, fruits and vegetables….
Orders are placed online. The next basket will be available in a few months, so stay tuned to the association's Facebook page. Kilti Martinique.
A wonderful, unifying project that brings culture to as many people as possible and supports local artists.
Kaylan Fagour
