Art_Africa_2016_03_

ARTAFRICA

a well-deserved homage (the exhibition was already underway at the news of his untimely

death), but he and Sammy Baloji are far from being enough to get a grasp of what is

happening in the Congo right now. It was in the ‘Soirées Nomades,’ mostly strong yet

unequal in their programming, that one could somehow get in touch with an updated view

of Congolese art and hear alternative, insightful voices on contemporary African artistic

practice. The guests included various collectives, singers, musicians, choreographers, and

even the South African Chimurenga’s Pan African Space Station.

This exhibition made me miss one of the Foundation’s historical strengths: a certain

ability to push beyond the expected. Since 1984, the Fondation Cartier has been a

pioneering institution in the field of contemporary arts. Sarah Sze, who represented the

United States with her ‘Triple Point’ series at the Venice Biennale in 2013, was exhibited

at the Foundation as early as 1999. In an interview with RUKH, an independent quarterly

devoted to culture, art and society in the Arab world, Grazia Quaroni, one of the head

curators at Fondation Cartier, was asked to define the values of the Foundation:

“...‘Curiosity’ is a word that describes the spirit of the Fondation Cartier for projects

that revolve around mathematics, film, fashion, rock’n’roll or design. We are a foundation

dedicated to contemporary art in its broadest sense. We must be curious of everything.”

Let us hope to find some of that curiosity again.

Olivia Anani is a writer, cultural advisor and auction specialist based in Paris, with

a background in Asian studies and contemporary art. Born in Ivory Coast, she

speaks fluent Mandarin and works with a focus on Africa/Asia relations, cultural

mobility and fluid identities. She is the founder of the Fast Forward project (2014)

in Beijing.

‘Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko’ ran from 11 July 2015 – 10 January 2016 at

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France.

BEAUTÉ CONGO / OLIVIA ANANI 5/5

Cet article a été traduit en français

pour ART AFRICA par l’Institut

Français. Avec votre smartphone,

scannez le code QR ci-dessous pour lire

l’article sur Internet ou visitez http://www.

artafricamagazine.org

REVIEWS