Exhibitions

Mónica de Miranda: Mirages and Deep Time is still on view at Galeria Avenida da Índia in Lisbon, Portugal until September 25, 2022

Curated by Azu Nwagbogu, Mirages and Deep Time encompasses the problems with decolonial tropes; it is a continuous and unmitigated search, requiring hyper-vigilance and suggesting an understanding of the limits of learned history. The exhibition gives space to the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of the reframing of Black history and identity in Portuguese history. It also propels the conversation towards nature and new forms of knowledge with which to approach the greatest challenge of the contemporary world in relation to climate change in the Anthropocene era. Mónica de Miranda’s visual narrative for this exhibition also revolves around a central motif: the mirror. Through the film and a series of photographs, Miranda uses the mirror as a structuring device that allows her to explore, in all their complexity and multiplicity, ideas of identity and history.

Art is Child’s Play is still on view at African Arty in Casablanca, Morocco until September 15, 2022

While the place of education is more than ever at the heart of the objectives of the continent and Morocco, African Arty highlights the link between Art and the Future by presenting the importance of Art in childhood. Each artist at the exhibition gives his perception of the relationship to education, history and transmission between generations. Inspired by Mali, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Morocco, the exhibited artists intertwine in a lively and coherent whole, addressing this subject by putting the little ones at the center of their creativity open a breach of innocence in a world that would benefit from much more inspiration from childhood. Staged in the magnificent space of the Art Deco-inspired American Arts Center, the works will dialogue in a colorful and vibrant scenography that will reason with the summer lightness and cheerfulness of childhood.

Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks is still on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in Houston, Texas, United States until October 2, 2022

Soul of Black Folks is a timely exploration into the varying strategies that Boafo employs within his practice that capture the essence of the Black figure. The crux of his work is a high-stakes interest in investigating the relationship between the self, representation, and history. He questions the art historical canon by asking – Who is represented within art history? Who has been omitted from the canon? Anchored by extremely calculated brushwork combined with skillfully executed finger-painted strokes, his mark-making generates a rich visual dichotomy that produces an evocative tension between foreground and background. Moreover, this spatial tension yields both inward and outward-looking explorations of Boafo’s subjects and the political act of painting Black figures themselves.

Biennials

FotoFest Biennial 2022 will open at various locations in Houston, United States from September24 to November 6, 2022

The FotoFest Biennial 2022 central exhibition, If I Had a Hammer, considers the ways in which artists utilize images to unpack the ideological underpinnings that inspire collective cultural movements around the globe, at a moment when social beliefs and political imaginaries are becoming dogma at the tap of a button and the click of a shutter. The exhibition addresses the role of images in the construction, representation, reception, and repression of global social movements and political ideologies. A diverse range of image-based practices are represented: activists and photo-documentarians, research-based artists and collectives, filmmakers and performance artists, and artists working within social practice. The included artists expose, through diverse methods, the potential of images to support progressive movements, as well as their ability to oppress marginalized and at-risk populations. The central exhibition is supported by a range of public programs, including an opening weekend event, public tours, musical and artist performances, a symposium, and a film program.

Screenings

Idrissa Ouédraogo: Hidden Figures will take place at the Barbican Cinema in London, United Kingdom from September 15-29, 2022

Barbican Cinema presents the latest Hidden Figures programme in September by celebrating the work of pioneering director Idrissa Ouédraogo, whose distinctive films portrayed the lives of rural and working class people in Burkina Faso with empathy and care. This programme is presented for the first time in partnership with the curatorial platform Culture Art Society and is programmed by Awa Konaté. Born in 1954, and after completing his training at the now defunct African Institute for Cinema Studies (INAFEC), Ouédraogo was a mentee of the renowned director Gaston Kaboré – who’s considered to be the father of film in the west African country – and his work evokes an illustrious group of filmmakers who illustrate what African cinema stands for.