Hello Community -
Our beloved friend Congolese artist (Jean-Armel) Mampouya lost all of his music instruments and his work tools (refinishing boats) in a fire on Dec 24, 2025 (PS Storage in Richmond, CA). The loss is invaluable and he has no way of earning a living now because of this.
He lost many drums from Congo (also skillfully painted by Mampouya), costumes, traditional accessories, jewelry, paintings, music amplifiers, art objects and all of his work tools for boat refinishing (this is his main income job: several sanders, heat guns, drills, many hand tools, sandpaper, brushes, vacuum cleaners etc...).
Everything is gone. Mampouya is devastated. He has no means of earning a living until he can replace these items, and obviously returning to Congo for drums and other cultural items is a very expensive endeavor.
Mampouya has been a member of our dance community for over 25 years, drumming in the Bay Area and nationally with passion and commitment. Let's support him the best we can, and please reach out with moral support also.
(Mampouya has been researching insurance coverage but its very unlikely there is any hope of recovery unless there's a class action lawsuit which is expensive and takes a very long time.)
Thank you so much for helping out.
Frederique Georges
Donations can also be sent directly to Mampouya: