David Shongo is a composer, musician and contemporary artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo. His work engages with themes of memory, trauma, and the intersection of history and politics, often exploring the legacy of colonialism and the exploitation of Africa’s resources. Shongo’s practice spans multiple mediums, including sound, film, digital collage, and visual art, creating immersive experiences that provoke dialogue about historical erasure, collective memory, and the present-day ramifications of past injustices.
Shongo has performed and shown his works at various international institutions and festivals. In 2024 he participated in the 4th Bangkok Art Biennale BAB2024: Nurture Gaia with the project Suskewiet Visions, a collaboration with the Belgian artist Filip Van Dingenen. Suskewiet Visions has been developed as part of the European project S+T+ARTS ‘Repairing the Present’, and travelled to the 9th Painting Biennale curated by Martin German. Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, MUDAL and Roger Raveelmuseum, Leiestreek Belgium.
In 2023 Shongo participated in the Venice Biennale Musica: Micro-Music, curated by Lucia Ronchetti. In the same year his films were shown at various international festivals, including Ars Electronica, in Austria; KIK Festival Namur, Festival Vues d’Afrique in Montreal and the Afrika Film Festival in Leuven. In previous years the artworks of Shongo were included in various group exhibitions, including The Whole Life (2022) at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; The Lubumbashi Biennale: ToxiCity (2022); Repairing the Present: REWILD, at Maxxi Museum Rome, curated by Manuel Cirauqui, amongst others.
Shongo has performed and shown his works at various international institutions and festivals. In 2024 he participated in the 4th Bangkok Art Biennale BAB2024: Nurture Gaia with the project Suskewiet Visions, a collaboration with the Belgian artist Filip Van Dingenen. Suskewiet Visions has been developed as part of the European project S+T+ARTS ‘Repairing the Present’, and travelled to the 9th Painting Biennale curated by Martin German. Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, MUDAL and Roger Raveelmuseum, Leiestreek Belgium.
In 2023 Shongo participated in the Venice Biennale Musica: Micro-Music, curated by Lucia Ronchetti. In the same year his films were shown at various international festivals, including Ars Electronica, in Austria; KIK Festival Namur, Festival Vues d’Afrique in Montreal and the Afrika Film Festival in Leuven. In previous years the artworks of Shongo were included in various group exhibitions, including The Whole Life (2022) at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; The Lubumbashi Biennale: ToxiCity (2022); Repairing the Present: REWILD, at Maxxi Museum Rome, curated by Manuel Cirauqui, amongst others.
Artworks
Articles
Media
Highlights
Recommendations
Collections
Shows
Market position
CV
Artworks by David Shongo
CV
David Shongo, born in 1994 in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, is a contemporary artist renowned for his work as a pianist and composer, and for his visual art. His works intricately weave together sound and visual elements, delving into themes such as memory, colonialism, and the socio-political dynamics of his homeland. He is founder of Studio 1960 and artistic director of the Festival Pianos de Kinshasa.
Shongo’s early life in Boma was marked by the absence of his father, leading him to be raised by his mother and sister. He began his musical journey playing percussion during family prayers. Later, he pursued studies in networks and telecommunications at the Protestant University of Lubumbashi. During this period, he taught himself jazz piano and collaborated with renowned local musicians on tour.
In 2018, filmmaker Petna Ndaliko encouraged Shongo to embark on a solo career, introducing him to the realms of cinema and photography. That same year, he received a scholarship to study photography through a collaboration between the University of Nottingham and Yolé!Africa.
In 2021, Shongo founded the Kinshasa Pianos Festival, the first event of its kind dedicated to the piano in Sub-Saharan Africa. His musical language is rooted in the ethnomusicology of Congo, approached through a jazz and experimental lens. He conducts research on harmonically unifying Congo’s ethnic music, drawing from linguistic rhythms and Ray Lema’s “Rhythmic Wheel” theory.
Selected Exhibitions and Performances
2025
—From Dead to Living Memory at Tommy Simoens, Antwerp marks the artists first solo exhibition in Belgium and premieres the project Cafe Kuba (2025).
—Artist in Residence in the SAM programme of the Singapore Art Museum.
2024
—An evening with David Shongo, Last Night of the Stone Age Sessions, Tommy Simoens, Antwerp.
—4th Bangkok Art Biennale BAB2024: Nurture Gaia. Suskewiet Visions, collaboration with Filip Van Dingenen. Suskewiet visions has been developed as part of the European project S+T+ARTS ‘Repairing the Present’.
—9th Painting Bienale, Suskewiet Visions, in collaboration with Filip Van Dingenen, curated by Martin German. Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, MUDAL and Roger Raveelmuseum, Leiestreek Belgium.
2023
—Lumene (2020) official selection Dok Leipzig festival.
—Venice Biennale Musica 2023, Micro-Music, directed by Lucia Ronchetti. Solo project Interviews of Silence (2023).
—Ceux sans qui la terre ne serait pas la terre (2023), Ars Electronica in Austria.
—KIKK Festival, Namur.
—Afrika Film Festival Leuven (Belgium),
Ceux sans qui la terre ne serait pas la terre (2023) and Lumene (2022).
—Festival Vues d’Afrique in Montreal.
—Look Closer, group exhibition at Rietberg museum.
2022
—The Whole Life. Archives & Imaginaries at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin.
—Lubumbashi Biennale: Toxicity 2022.
—Repairing the Present: REWILD, at Maxxi Museum Rome, curated by Manuel Cirauqui.
—Performance at ACUD MACHT NEU in Berlin, Kotempo laboratory, in collaboration with Maxxi Museum.
—The Schredder, group exhibition at Haus der Kulturen der Welt(HKW).
2020
—Congo in Harlem 2020 Festival, official selection, New York.
— Locarno film Festival 2020, Bugs (2019) official selection in the Pardi di domani, Swiss national competition.
—ON-TRADE-OFF : The Unbearable Lightness, group exhibition, Colonie de Paris.
—Kongo Remix, group exhibition, Rietberg Museum, Zürich. With a.o. artists Michèle Magema and Fiston Mwanza.
2019
—Congo as Fiction. Art Worlds Between Past and Present, group exhibition curated by Nanina Guyer.
—Biennale de Lubumbashi 2019 - Future Genealogies, Lubumbashi.
Prizes and awards
2023
—Lumene: Chapter I: Privatisation (2022): Best Documentary YAFMA Award at the Afrika Film Leuven Festival.
—three-year research fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Shongo’s early life in Boma was marked by the absence of his father, leading him to be raised by his mother and sister. He began his musical journey playing percussion during family prayers. Later, he pursued studies in networks and telecommunications at the Protestant University of Lubumbashi. During this period, he taught himself jazz piano and collaborated with renowned local musicians on tour.
In 2018, filmmaker Petna Ndaliko encouraged Shongo to embark on a solo career, introducing him to the realms of cinema and photography. That same year, he received a scholarship to study photography through a collaboration between the University of Nottingham and Yolé!Africa.
In 2021, Shongo founded the Kinshasa Pianos Festival, the first event of its kind dedicated to the piano in Sub-Saharan Africa. His musical language is rooted in the ethnomusicology of Congo, approached through a jazz and experimental lens. He conducts research on harmonically unifying Congo’s ethnic music, drawing from linguistic rhythms and Ray Lema’s “Rhythmic Wheel” theory.
Selected Exhibitions and Performances
2025
—From Dead to Living Memory at Tommy Simoens, Antwerp marks the artists first solo exhibition in Belgium and premieres the project Cafe Kuba (2025).
—Artist in Residence in the SAM programme of the Singapore Art Museum.
2024
—An evening with David Shongo, Last Night of the Stone Age Sessions, Tommy Simoens, Antwerp.
—4th Bangkok Art Biennale BAB2024: Nurture Gaia. Suskewiet Visions, collaboration with Filip Van Dingenen. Suskewiet visions has been developed as part of the European project S+T+ARTS ‘Repairing the Present’.
—9th Painting Bienale, Suskewiet Visions, in collaboration with Filip Van Dingenen, curated by Martin German. Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, MUDAL and Roger Raveelmuseum, Leiestreek Belgium.
2023
—Lumene (2020) official selection Dok Leipzig festival.
—Venice Biennale Musica 2023, Micro-Music, directed by Lucia Ronchetti. Solo project Interviews of Silence (2023).
—Ceux sans qui la terre ne serait pas la terre (2023), Ars Electronica in Austria.
—KIKK Festival, Namur.
—Afrika Film Festival Leuven (Belgium),
Ceux sans qui la terre ne serait pas la terre (2023) and Lumene (2022).
—Festival Vues d’Afrique in Montreal.
—Look Closer, group exhibition at Rietberg museum.
2022
—The Whole Life. Archives & Imaginaries at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin.
—Lubumbashi Biennale: Toxicity 2022.
—Repairing the Present: REWILD, at Maxxi Museum Rome, curated by Manuel Cirauqui.
—Performance at ACUD MACHT NEU in Berlin, Kotempo laboratory, in collaboration with Maxxi Museum.
—The Schredder, group exhibition at Haus der Kulturen der Welt(HKW).
2020
—Congo in Harlem 2020 Festival, official selection, New York.
— Locarno film Festival 2020, Bugs (2019) official selection in the Pardi di domani, Swiss national competition.
—ON-TRADE-OFF : The Unbearable Lightness, group exhibition, Colonie de Paris.
—Kongo Remix, group exhibition, Rietberg Museum, Zürich. With a.o. artists Michèle Magema and Fiston Mwanza.
2019
—Congo as Fiction. Art Worlds Between Past and Present, group exhibition curated by Nanina Guyer.
—Biennale de Lubumbashi 2019 - Future Genealogies, Lubumbashi.
Prizes and awards
2023
—Lumene: Chapter I: Privatisation (2022): Best Documentary YAFMA Award at the Afrika Film Leuven Festival.
—three-year research fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Free Magazine Subscription
Articles, interviews, shows & events. Delivered to your mailbox weekly.