A comprehensive effort is currently underway to digitally preserve hundreds of artworks created by the Kolèktif Awtis Rézistans collective on the walls of the Arts and Culture Center (CAC) in Pointe-à-Pitre. This urgent digitization project comes after the artists' departure from the building and as the metropolitan community prepares to resume rehabilitation work on the site.
During their six-year occupation of this construction site, the activists brought the space to life, organizing cultural events and transforming the building into an almost open-air museum. The murals, frescoes, monumental structures, and other on-site creations attracted thousands of visitors over the years. Among the most famous works on the main facade is a masterful portrait of acclaimed author Maryse Condé, created by artist Steek Oner.
For just a few more days, the Arts and Culture Center of Pointe-à-Pitre, wrapped in these giant frescoes, is living its final hours in this form. Image hunters are currently working on site with alert eyes, their mission being to save the artworks wherever they may be found. Some pieces are even located on the roof, visible only from the sky.
Starting next February, the building will undergo a complete transformation. Several months of construction work are planned to renovate the facades and eventually create a new performance hall. Until then, Rémy, the photographer tasked with the digitization project, methodically surveys the premises. Nothing must escape his lens.
"The yellow and red mast, with a red sun and the Guadeloupean flag on the boat's hull. An uninitiated person wouldn't see this boat. But, being also an artistic trainer, directly with my skills, I was able to perceive this boat," explains Rémy Ramin, the photographer in charge of digitizing the CAC's artworks.
There are works to digitize even in the staircase steps of the Arts and Culture Center. On site, entire walls have become works of art. Rémy finds himself facing a woman's face measuring 33 feet long and 10 feet high. "This one is magnificent! But here, I need the super wide angle. It's a work that starts from the ground and goes up to the roof. Here, the complexity is to render in two dimensions a work that was created in three dimensions," Ramin explains.
In total, 350 artworks scattered across four floors need to be digitized, with time running out to capture this giant gallery of paintings. "It's work that sometimes requires coming at night to photograph specific works, sometimes in the morning because morning gives us cooler colors, and other times in the afternoon to obtain warmer colors," the photographer notes.
This represents a titanic undertaking, matching the scale of the artists' imagination. "With virtual reality headsets now available, people will be able to visualize the works as if they were present within the room," Ramin adds about the future accessibility of the digital archive.
Regardless of these preservation efforts, the fate of the physical frescoes is already sealed. "Unfortunately, today, to sanitize the building, we are obligated to do work on the walls that will require the use of chemical products. It's too difficult to preserve the works while sanitizing the building, which is currently very dilapidated. You can see it, just behind me, we have water entering through the ceiling, coming in from all sides," explains Élodie Gofin, a digital communication specialist in charge of digitization for Cap Excellence.
Despite their physical destruction, the artworks will continue to live on in digital form. They are expected to be made available online on a dedicated platform for the artists who formerly occupied the Arts Center, ensuring that this remarkable collection of street art and murals created between 2019 and 2025 will remain accessible to future generations and art enthusiasts worldwide.
