CATPC | Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise

CATPC, short for Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise, is a grassroots art cooperative based in Lusanga, Democratic Republic of Congo. Operating on the site of a former industrial plantation, the collective utilizes contemporary art as a strategic vehicle for social, economic, and ecological repair. The members create detailed sculptures from river clay, which are subsequently cast in chocolate and palm oil—raw commodities that have historically defined the exploitative plantation economy. By selling these works within the international art market, CATPC generates the capital necessary to buy back hundreds of hectares of depleted land. This reclaimed territory is then converted into biodiverse, community-owned agroforests, a regenerative model they describe as the 'post-plantation.' The organization's headquarters, 'The White Cube,' serves as a center for research and cultural exchange in Lusanga. In 2024, CATPC gained global recognition for representing the Netherlands at the 60th Venice Biennale with their exhibition 'The International Celebration of Blasphemy and the Sacred.' Their practice emphasizes the repatriation of cultural heritage and the restoration of sacred forests, challenging the historical extraction of wealth from the Global South. Through their unique synthesis of artistic production and land activism, CATPC demonstrates how creative labor can directly sustain environmental health and community sovereignty.