Exhibitions

Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks is still on view at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, US until August 23, 2015.

Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is the subject of a seminal exhibition which places the pages of eight of the artist’s notebooks on display for the very first time. Taking place at the Brooklyn Museum, this exhibition aims to give unique insight into the inner workings of this iconic artist by showcasing 160 unbound notebook pages, alongside 30 drawings, paintings and mixed-media works from private collections and the artist’s estate. A poet as much as an artist, his pieces heavily focused on the visual word, with ideas of racism, colonialism and the street permeating repeatedly throughout. The notebooks are no different and are regarded as veritable works of art in themselves. Selected pieces from the notebooks include previously unseen poems and early sketches, as well as the thought process that went into planning his larger pieces of work.

Penny Siopis: Still and Moving is still on view at Stevenson in Cape Town, South Africa until August 29, 2015.

Penny Siopis’ solo exhibition, Still and Moving, continues her longstanding interest in what she calls “the poetics of vulnerability” and extends her particular use of chance-driven processes to generate images and surfaces that prompt associations. In this exhibition the trigger for those associations is grief, both individual and collective. One of the images the artist is drawn to is Niobe of Greek mythology, a symbol of grief in western literature and philosophy. Reread from contemporary perspectives Niobe becomes an image of transformation – specifically how her tears of sorrow merge with rock, to become a waterfall of stone.

Festivals

August in Africa is now on view at Covent Garden Piazza, in London, UK on August 1, 2015.

August in Africa is a summer festival organized each year by The Africa Centre based in London, UK. This year, both international and rising stars are expected to take the stage for a full day of artistic activities including music, dance, fashion, and photography. The festival will explore the art of portraiture through photography and ascend into an immersive experience, unfolding a popup photography studio, workshops and contests. Hassan Hajjaj – the renowned Moroccan photographer will honour the tradition of the photography studio by capturing the most striking styles among visitors. A digital exhibition of images morphing into an animated display will invite the audience in a cultural journey around Africa. Autograph ABP will also present rarely seen photographs of black presence in the UK from the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.

Art Fairs

SP-Arte/Foto, Sao Paulo Photography Fair will open at Shopping JK Iguatemi in Sao Paulo, Brazil from August 19 to 23, 2015.

Modern, contemporary and vintage photography will be the focus at the 9th edition of Latin America’s leading photography fair, SP-Arte/Foto which will be held from August 20 to 23 with a special preview for guests on August 19. The Fair includes 30 galleries representing major names in photography, with free admission to all visitors at JK Iguatemi Shopping Mall. SP-Arte/Foto/2015 will have a second edition of Talks, in partnership with the magazine Arte!Brasileiros. There will also be book launches and parallel exhibitions related to photography and its history.

Conferences

Creative Time Summit will be presented within the 56th edition of la Biennale di Venezia at the Arsenale in Venice, Italy from August 11 to 13, 2015.

The 2015 Creative Time Summit will participate in the program All the World’s Futures organized by Okwui Enwezor, the artistic director of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. The summit is a core program of Creative Time – the innovative experimental arts organization based in New York, and will focus on the topic of Curriculum during a lively 3-day forum. The summit will engage nearly 60 speakers, including artists, activists, and educators from more than 20 countries in a series of plenary sessions to address what it means to produce, transform, and transmit knowledge across the conflicted terrain of the world today. The first two days will include short presentations, longer keynote addresses, and a dynamic round of break-out conversations. The third day will offer a wide range of breakout discussions concerning specific case studies, political issues, and other curricular activities.