Exhibitions

Yinka Shonibare: Ruins Decorated is on view at Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 1 until October 6, 2018

Through beguiling sculptures, photographs, paintings, and installation, Shonibare considers narratives of power and reinvention in relation to the rise and fall of western empires and the struggles for African Independence. Part I of the exhibition presents ruined historical symbols of Roman and British Empires embellished in African batik patterns. Part II juxtaposes Addio Del Passato (2011), a film about a colonial hero’s betrayal of his wife and his eventual decline, alongside a series of photographs in which Admiral Nelson’s death is re-imagined through the depiction of death in historical paintings. Part III presents a man wearing Victorian clothes made out of another variation of African pattern, balancing precariously on a large globe. Part IV is an installation of multiple books illustrating the contributions of post-independence African presidents and famous Africans in literature, science, music, art, engineering and theatre as well as pro-African Europeans.

Biennials

Kampala Art Biennale 2018 is still open at several location in Kampala, Uganda until September 24, 2018

The third edition of Kampala Art Biennale (KAB18) titled The Studio includes a studio program focusing on masters and apprentices, an education program focusing on art critique, a symposium focusing on art knowledge transmission and KABLAB – a business forum discussing how art can build bridges in our cultures. Unlike the common format of major biennials, which historically show and promote the best of their time, KAB18 is choosing a format that vehicles our continent’s original values of sharing and transferring knowledge from international contemporary art masters to young African artists. This is especially crucial as it evokes the traditional African transfer of knowledge from the experienced to the future generation. Art is an important contributor to social cohesion and nation building through the promotion of intercultural dialogue, understanding and collaboration.

Festivals

Park Nights 2018 is sill open at Kensington Gardens in London, United Kingdom until September 21, 2018

Serpentine Galleries will open Park Nights, its annual series of experimental, interdisciplinary commissions in the Serpentine Pavilion, designed by award-winning architect Frida Escobedo. On select summer Fridays, Park Nights 2018 presents eight commissions by international practitioners in the fields of art, music, performance, theatre and fashion. Each site-specific work responds to Escobedo’s design, which draws on Mexican and British elements to create a reflective, imaginative space for live encounters. Park Nights 2018 is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director), Claude Adjil (Curator), Lucia Pietroiusti (Curator) and Kostas Stasinopoulos (Assistant Curator, Live Programmes).

Art Fairs

FNB Joburg Art Fair 2018 will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 6-9, 2018

Now in its eleventh edition, the FNB JoburgArtFair 2018 clocks in as the largest and most established art fair on the continent to date. This year, over 45 galleries from fourteen countries across Africa, Europe and the United States – as well as an exciting addition of 15 new exhibitors – will present projects and work of African art. The fair will be an all-in-one showcase of fresh perspectives and sought after content on contemporary African art – with particularly strong representation of exhibitors from Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. New exhibitors from the continent include Namibian artist collective NJE Collective based out of Windhoek and Arte de Gema from Maputo, while This is Not A Whitecube will make their debut as the third Luanda gallery in the line up (after ELA – Espaço Luanda Arte and MOV’ART Gallery).

Conference

Condition Report 3 on Art History in Africa will take place at RAW Material Company in Dakar, Senegal from September 20-22, 2018

Since its inception in 2011, RAW Material Company has passionately maintained a commitment to exchange between practitioners within the African continent. Condition Report, a biennial symposium reflecting on the status of artistic and curatorial practice in Africa, has contributed to the emergence of new discourses and awareness in relation to the dynamics at play in the contemporary art landscape. After a first Condition Report on building art institutions in Africa (2012) and a second on artistic education in Africa (2014), RAW Material Company is now turning its attention to the discipline of art history as a lens to examine the politics and potential of knowledge production around contemporary African artistic practice. This symposium on art history in Africa will open discussions with a multi-disciplinary panel of art historians, artists, curators, critics, and art collectives whose innovative practice is reshaping the perceived parameters of the discipline.