Exhibitions

Africa State of Mind is still on view at the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco, CA, United States until November 15, 2019

Curated by the eminent British writer, broadcaster, and curator Ekow Eshun, this major exhibition is produced by New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK and has also travelled to Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK.  Along the way the fifteen artists from eleven different countries reveal Africa to be a psychological space as much as a physical territory; a state of mind as much as a physical location. This is the only U.S. showing of Africa State of Mind. The exhibition is orientated around three main themes: Inner Landscapes, Zones of Freedom and Hybrid Cities. In the show, the modern African city is documented in all its dynamism and contradiction. The fluidity of gender and sexual identity is addressed through compelling portraiture, and the legacy of history, from slavery and colonialism to apartheid, becomes the source of resonant new myths and dreamscapes.

Life Through Extraordinary Mirrors is still on view at the October Gallery in London, United Kingdom until November 23, 2019

October Gallery reopened last September to the public with the new group exhibition ‘Life Through Extraordinary Mirrors’, featuring works by Romuald Hazoumè, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Cyrus Kabiru, Zak Ové, Alexis Peskine, LR Vandy and Cosmo Whyte. The show will include painting, sculpture and photography drawing upon themes of place, identity and human experience. The seven artists interweave their personal experiences with global realities to present an astute view of the world we live in.

Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion x Hair x Design is still on view at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin, Germany until December 1, 2019

Fashion is a system of rules of its own and is regarded as a pacemaker of social change. Generation Now is currently breaking up the hegemony of the “western fashion system”: African culture should no longer serve only as a source of inspiration for Western fashion designers. Likewise, hair and with it “African” bodies were a central arena for the exercise of colonial power, disciplined, regulated and subjected to the Western ideal of beauty. The traditional African hair styles, which have thus almost fallen into oblivion, are once again being disseminated and made accessible today. At the same time, they are used self-confidently in the play with hair as an expression of creative identity formation while hair as an artistic material is increasingly coming to the fore. Against this background, the Kunstgewerbemuseum has invited several fashion designers and artists to reposition the themes of fashion and hair in a museum context with installation works.

Biennials

Lagos Biennial 2019 is still open at various locations in Lagos, Nigeria until November 30, 2019

The title of the second edition “How to build a Lagoon with just a bottle of wine?” is adapted from the poem, “A Song For Lagos” by the Nigerian writer Akeem Lasisi. During the kick-off event, the curators framed the title as a provocation for artists and the public to meditate on the history and present makeup of city’s built environment. For the curators, the title conjures the impossible, which speaks to the city’s “can-do” spirit in the face of seemingly insurmountable social, political, and economic obstacles just as it alludes the nascent state of the biennial itself as a platform. This edition will take the city of Lagos as its epicenter and point of departure for a broader investigation on how contemporary artists, designers, and other creatives, are responding to the challenges and possibilities of environments today.

Art Fairs

Paris Photo 2019 will open at Grand Palais in Paris, France from November 7-10, 2019

For its 23rd edition, Paris Photo, the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium, announces 209 exhibitors from 30 countries for the Main Galleries, Book, Prismes, and Curiosa Sectors. The Prismes sector is dedicated to the presentation of exceptional projects from large formats and series to installations. The Curiosa sector is dedicated this year to emerging artists. Curated by Osei Bonsu (British-Ghanaian curator and writer), this year’s theme addresses photography and its increasingly unstable relationship with the world today. The third edition of the FILM sector presents an exploration of the intimate and diverse relationship between photography and moving image with a series of films by artists and photographers spanning genres including documentary, fiction and digital manipulation of the image.

AKAA 2019 will open at Carreau du Temple in Paris, France from November 9-11, 2019

As the first contemporary art and design fair dedicated to Africa in France, AKAA (Also Known As Africa) is the Parisian rendez-vous for visitors who are passionate or curious about the vibrant creativity of the African continent, and its artistic influence throughout the world. For its fourth edition, AKAA returns to the Carreau du Temple, with a rigorous selection of art galleries showing artists whose work reveals a link to Africa– defined by their place of birth or origin, their cultural or family heritage, aesthetics, travel, residency, new encounters or collaborations. With over 45 exhibitors and 100 artists each year from all over the world, AKAA is now established as a primary event for contemporary art lovers, collectors and professionals.