AMHERST — As Senegal’s first female graffiti artist, Dieynaba Sidibé’s pieces, using the name Zeinixx, have focused on gender equality, environmental awareness and social justice.
A contemporary artist from Burkina Faso, Idrissa Savadogo uses string to create his paintings, which are rooted in African traditions, while Claude Monet remains a famed 19th-century French impressionist painter.
Representing different aspects of the French-speaking world, the three artists were recently highlighted as part of the ninth annual French Night at Amherst Regional High School.
“We had slides about them and presented about their art,” says senior Alina Seeger, co-president of the French Culture Club, whose members helped organize the evening. “The slide show was in French and then read in English.”
Works from the artists also made up the covers of the printed programs for the evening that was presented “par le Club de Français et les élèves de français du Lycée Régional d’Amherst.”
More than 200 community members attended the celebration of Francophone culture, highlighted by a meal catered by Amanouz Moroccan Cafe in Northampton and a students’ potluck, with fondue and crepe stations. The students’ research potluck was redesigned this year to meet new regulations.
There were also live dance, song and spoken word performances as part of cultural presentations, a trivia contest, jewelry for sale, a children’s area with henna tattoos, coloring and games, a photo booth station and a raffle, and guest speaker Jamie Simonson, a former French Club president who graduated in 2019.
“We’re trying to bring awareness of the Francophone world,” says French teacher Oumy Cissé. “One of the goals is to educate the community about the Francophone world.”
The cafeteria displayed flags from across the world where French is spoken, including the flag from Cissé’s native Senegal, and various decorations to create a festive atmosphere.
Delany Cheng and Maria Roof, also seniors and the other co-presidents of the French Culture Club, said a lot of work is put into the event.
Roof explained that students who are part of club and the French II language class begin organizing in December, getting the decorations ready and soliciting sponsors.
Cheng said that everything is made by students, including the posters that publicize the event and the outreach to Amanouz Cafe so there is plenty for everyone to eat.
“They brought quite a bit of food for us,” Cheng said.
Students also prepare food that will be unique to the evening. “We’re focused on other things that people haven’t tried,” Cheng said.
Among the items are hors d’oeuvres, like dolmas et houmous, or stuffed grape leaves and hummus, plantains, or fried tropical bananas, dinners such as couscous aux légumes, or couscous with vegetables, ragoût au poulet halal, or halal/ kosher chicken stew, and drinks like jus de bissap, which is Senegalese red organic hibiscus juice, and jus de bouye, which is Senegalese baobab fruit juice.
“The ultimate goal is to bring different cultures together to the community, which adds to the experience,” adds senior Lily Wambura, also a member of the club.
Cheyenne Mckethan, another senior, created an interpretative performance for the song “La Seine” by Vanessa Paradis.
Mckethan said she joined the French Culture Club because of the yearly event.
“It’s one of the things I look forward to,” Mckethan said. “It’s not just about speaking French, it’s about learning French culture”
Cissé, who has been teaching in the district for 24 years, said the evening brings positive energy to the school. The event first started with other departments to celebrate cultures of Amherst and to showcase some of what students are learning.
“This brings joy and community together, to celebrate differences and similarities,” she said, adding that she works with food services and others at the school to get the necessary approvals.
“This is a community celebration that involves a lot of parents and the community, not only the French Club and the French II class,” Cissé said
French II is also called Bon Appetit, where students learn how to speak Academy French.
“Putting on this French night reinforces what we’re learning,” Cissé said. “This gives them another way to learn than just in the textbooks.”
Students also have the chance to wear different clothes to represent the cultures, putting on a sort of fashion show, helping them leave their comfort zones. All the jewelry from West Africa is handmade jewelry.
Students in French II memorized “Déjeuner du matin,” or Morning Breakfast, Jacques Prévert’s poem that Cissé said helps them to learn tenses of verbs.
“We all said it in unison for people at the end of French Night,” said Lily Harris, who was joined by classmates Olivia Dufour and Lena Holcombe in the daily French instruction and helping out with French Night.
Mckethan said she is trying to learn more about Creole and her Haitian heritage and would like to travel to Senegal, Haiti and France when the opportunity comes.
Cheng said she has interest in the Asian Francophone world, already having been able to visit Cambodia.
Typically, French Night funds itself and fundraisers may allow for a field trip to Clark University in Worcester to see impressionist paintings. Cheng said students are also determining if they can work on staging another event timed to Mardi Gras.
Simonson said it was inspiring to return and see how French Night has flourished.
“Events such as these expose students to diversity of thought that will encourage acceptance, empathy and set them up for success in their post-high school journeys,” Simonson said.
Principal Talib Sadiq has also been a booster of the event as a way to strengthen the sense of community within the school.
“Families, students, and staff come together to celebrate diversity, creativity, and global awareness,” Sadiq said. “French Night encourages cultural curiosity, builds confidence in students as they share what they have learned, and reinforces the school’s commitment to inclusivity and multicultural education.”
The French Culture Club has about 10 active members, and many who drop in on occasion, though with somewhat smaller numbers this year after the school district was forced, by the state, to eliminate Flex Block. That makes it more challenging for students involved in sports or other extracurricular activities to get to the once-a-week meetings.
“To have French Night happen at all was definitely an accomplishment,” Wambura said.
