African Art in Venice Forum
7-8-9 May 2019
Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal Venice, Italy
TUESDAY, MAY 7
9:30 am - Opening Remarks
With:
Osei Bonsu, Chair, 2019 African Art in Venice Forum
Ilaria Conti, Vice President, African Art Dialogues
Neri Torcello, Founder, African Art in Venice Forum and President, African Art Dialogues
10:00 am - African Art at the Venice Biennale: history, challenges and opportunities
Preceded by a historical overview of the presence of contemporary African art at the Venice Biennale from 1922 onwards, the discussion will focus on key challenges to the expansion of representation of creative practices from the continent in the context of Venice. The panel will also explore the opportunities and creative solutions that have been identified through the years.
Historical Overview and Introduction: Rikke Jørgensen, Founder, Arts & Globalization Platform
With:
Joël Andrianomearisoa, artist, Madagascar Pavilion 2019
Raphael Chikukwa, curator, Zimbabwe Pavilion 2019
Emmanuel Dayde, curator, Madagascar Pavilion 2019
Martin Kennedy, curator, Seychelles Pavilion 2019
Nkule Mabaso, curator, South Africa Pavilion 2019
Gonçalo Mabunda, artist, Mozambique Pavilion 2019
Nomusa Makhubu, curator, South Africa Pavilion 2019
Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, curator, Ghana Pavilion 2019
Rina Ralay-Ranaivo, curator, Madagascar Pavilion 2019
Massimo Scaringella, curator, Ivory Coast Pavilion 2019
Amina Zoubir, artist, Algeria Pavilion 2019
Moderated by Osei Bonsu, independent curator
Image: Jelili Atiku, Mama Say Make I Dey Go, She Dey My Back, performance at the 57th Venice Biennale, Arsenale, Venice, Italy (Friday May 12 2017). Credit: @andrewesiebo
11:45 am - Africa State of Mind: culture, identity and politics in contemporary African photography
The discussion considers how recent photographic practice from Africa is exploring themes of history, politics, race and gender, as well as interrogating ideas of 'Africanness' through subjective renderings of culture and identity on the continent.
With:
Shiraz Bayjoo, artist
Christine Eyene, independent curator
Paul Goodwin, independent curator
Kiluanji Kia Henda, artist
In conversation with Ekow Eshun, independent curator
Presented in collaboration with New Art Exchange.
Shiraz Bayjoo’s participation in Venice is supported by International Curators Forum (ICF) and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.
Image: Shiraz Bayjoo, Searching for Libertalia Cabinet Two, 2018, giclee print on Hahnemühle pearl paper. Courtesy of the artist.
1:15 pm - Art and Agency
In today’s increasingly international art world, how can we create new platforms that centre around artists rather than artworks? Organized in partnership with Crane Projects, a multifaceted agency for contemporary African art, Ibrahim Mahama (artist and founder of the project space Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art) and Osei Bonsu (curator and founder of Crane Projects) will discuss the dynamic structures supporting the next generation of artists on the continent.
With:
Ibrahim Mahama, artist
Osei Bonsu, independent curator
Presented in collaboration with Crane Projects.
Image: Ibrahim Mahama, Mallam Atta Market, 2012, from Out of Bounds (Crane Editions, 2015). Courtesy of the artist and Crane Projects.
2:15 pm - Black Archive Alliance: an Italian perspective
Over the past 4 years Black History Month Florence has advanced over 250 events in the city of Florence connected to Blackness and Afro-Descendent cultures. With events ranging from workshops to talks, concerts and cinema, an emphasis has been placed on the curation of contemporary art as a means for developing new language and fostering research within the Italian context.
Presented by Justin Randolph Thompson, Co-Founder and Director of Black History Month Florence
Image: Courtesy of Black History Month Florence.
3:00 pm - Digital Histories in Africa
When talking about technology and its cultural impact, the American-led internet and Silicon Valley are always taken as the global technological standard. This disregards important parallel histories of technological development in different regions across the world, that are shaping the future of digital technologies. Looking at questions of techno-epistemologies, extractivism, algorithmic colonialism and digital activism, artistic practices related to Africa have engaged with technology through a wide spectrum of conceptual and creative methodologies. The panel will address current artistic practices in this field and the related platforms for international research and curatorial presentation.
“[…] now billions of Earthlings carry little bits of Africa around with them in their pockets.”
—Benjamin Bratton
With:
Francois Knoetze, artist
Emo de Medeiros, artist
Tabita Rezaire, artist
Arthur Steiner, Programme Manager, Digital Earth, Hivos
Presented in collaboration with Digital Earth.
Image: Emo de Medeiros, Vodunaut #003 (Hyperfeeler), 2016. Courtesy of the artist.
4:45 pm - Media Minerals
Incorporating music, spoken word, and video projection, Larry Achiampong & David Blandy’s performance Media Minerals reflects on how politics of race affect relationships in an age of technology and globalization. The artists have a scripted encounter that relates their personal experiences and geopolitical observations. Their friendship — forged through virtual spaces like video games or WhatsApp — is tested as they consider how the lives of their respective children differ from each other, and what the future may hold for all of mankind. The Media Minerals performance takes the raw materials of the Finding Fanon series into the physical space.
With:
Larry Achiampong, artist
David Blandy, artist
Presented in collaboration with New Art Exchange.
Image: photo by Colin Davison .
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8
9:30 am - Imizuzu
With:
Prof. Sir. Zanele Muholi, visual activist and photographer
Image: Courtesy of Lebo Mashifane.
CANCELLED:
We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen issues related to international travel, Zanele Muholi will not be able to be in Venice on May 8. Her talk "Imizuzu" will, therefore, be cancelled.
10:45 am - Biennials’ Ecologies in Contemporary African Art
Biennials have become one of the most well-established systems to internationally present curatorial projects. Presenters will inspire a discussion about the relevance of such format within the artistic contexts of African countries, addressing both its possibilities, constraints, and local specificities.
With:
Sara Alonso Gómez, Curator, Yango Biennale de Kinshasa 2020 | researcher
Sandrine Colard-De Bock, Curator, Lubumbashi Biennale 2019
Elvira Dyangani Ose, Director, The Showroom, London
Christine Eyene, Curator, Casablanca Biennale 2020
Moderated by Skinder Hundal, Director, New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK
Presented in collaboration with New Art Exchange.
Image: Courtesy of the Lubumbashi Biennial.
12:30 pm - Funding the Future: how African philanthropy is shaping a new landscape for cultural discourse
Presenters will discuss how the development of non-profit organizations, philanthropic endeavors, and hybrid funding structures in many African countries is providing new space for aesthetic exploration, artistic experimentation and community engagement.
With:
Teesa Bahana, Director, 32 Degrees East | Ugandan Arts Trust, Kampala, Uganda
Mamou Daffé, Chairperson, African Culture Fund (ACF), Bamako, Mali
Josh Ginsburg, Director, A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
Bruno Leitão, co-director, Hangar Center for Artistic Research | Head curator FAS, Lisbon, Portugal
In conversation with Damian Nixon, ArtTactic, editor of ‘Africa: Art and Philanthropy in 2019’
Presented in collaboration with ArtTactic.
Image: Street performance during KLA Art 2018 - a public art festival organised by 32 Degrees East in Kampala, Uganda. Credits: Mohammed Ali Kanch.
2:00 pm - Revue Noire (1991-2001): the magazine of contemporary African art
Thirty years ago very few African artists or photographers were known on the international art scene. Revue Noire, the magazine of contemporary African art (1991-2001), radically changed that, giving much needed attention to contemporary creators from Africa and the Diaspora, simultaneously challenging the perceptions of the continent. Roundtable discussion with the original team.
With:
N’Gone Fall, independent curator, art writer, and cultural consultant
Pascal Martin Saint Leon, architect | artistic director, Revue Noire
Simon Njami, writer, independent curator, art critic and essayist
Jean Loup Pivin, architect | director, Revue Noire
In conversation with Riason Naidoo, independent curator and writer
Presented in collaboration with Revue Noire.
Supported by: Institut Français, Institut Français d'Afrique du Sud (IFAS), Cité internationale des arts, Paris.
Image: Revue Noire #3. Back cover. Photo copyright: Estate of Rotimi Fani-Kayode - Autograph.
THURSDAY, MAY 9
9:30 am - Art Publishing in Africa: beyond the digital era
Faced by high distribution costs and ever-changing logistical challenges, art publications are at risk of extinction worldwide. How does this strive for relevance and sustainability apply to publishing in Africa, and what are the possibilities and obstacles faced by the editors, publishers, and writers in the continent? Is the digital realm the solution to the international publishing crisis, and what role do the formats emerging from the continent have in such production and diffusion of knowledge?
With:
Will Furtado, Deputy Editor, Contemporary And (C&)
Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Co-founder, Reading Zimbabwe
Flurina Rothenberger, Founder, The Nice Magazine
Ntone Edjabe, Co-founder, Chimurenga
In conversation with Anna-Alix Koffi, Founder, something we Africans got
Presented in collaboration with something we Africans got.
Image: courtesy of Reading Zimbabwe.
11:15 am - Redesigning the missing links
What is the effect of the continuing supremacy of the Western art canon on the practice of contemporary African artists? How do contemporary African visual artists familiarise themselves with these issues and what steps do they take to navigate the resulting landscape? Are there examples of development of new canons for the African contemporary art ecosystem?
The panel will present a developmental discussion between three actors from the art world who founded and implemented prominent art projects on the African continent.
With:
Teesa Bahana, Director, 32 Degrees East | Ugandan Arts Trust, Kampala, Uganda
Meriem Berrada, Head of Cultural Projects, Fondation Alliances, Casablanca, Morocco
In conversation with Salimata Diop, independent curator
Presented in collaboration with the Edmond the Rothschild Foundations.
Image: courtesy of Alun [be] Photography.
1:00 pm - Vocabulary of Intermittent Lights: Africa and the Caribbean
Participants will discover how current artistic and curatorial projects are finding new ways to articulate the deep relationships between the African continent and the Caribbean region, fostering new forms of South-South creative collaborations.
"To open new roads,
let the breath of art trace
unexplored paths,
as climbers
struggling with new paths,
letting the experience of the time traveled so far
create wealth and
reverses predatory energies."
With:
Giscard Bouchotte, Curator, Haiti Pavilion 2019
Jenny Feal, artist, Cuba
Sara Alonso Gómez, Co-founder, Calle C | researcher and curator
Albertine Kopp, Head, Caribbean Art Initiative
Gabriele Salmi, Co-founder, Calle C
Presented in collaboration with Calle C and Caribbean Art Initiative.
Image: ‘Kinkwelele’ by Richard Kaumba, courtesy of Calle-C and Richard Kaumba.
2:30 pm - Focus Sudan: looking ahead
This session will discuss the recent and current developments of political and cultural activism through graphics arts and public engagement in the context of Sudan.
With:
Khalid Wad Albaih, artist
Alaa Satir, artist
Presented with the generous support of Salah Elmur.
Image: courtesy of Ahmed Mahmoud.
3:30 pm - Making Venice Count: strategies and actions from Africa for Africa
Participants will discuss the creative strategies and strategic actions that need to occur at the local level to ensure that participating with a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale creates a sustainable impact on the economy and infrastructure of the represented country and a strong relevance for its art sector.
With:
Valerie Kabov, Editor at Large, Art Africa Magazine | Founder, First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe
Frank Kilbourn, Executive Chairperson, Strauss & Co, South Africa
Janine Gaëlle Dieudji, Exhibitions Director, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, Morocco
Moderated by Hannah O’Leary, Director, Head of Modern & Contemporary African Art, Sothebys, London, UK
