ARTAFRICAEDITORIAL011 EDITORIAL / BLAH BLAHAs our focus on global discourse expands, we –
as members of the so-called geopolitical south
- find ourselves at the centre of a much larger
dialogue. With the ever-widening scope of
debate and varying points of view, it becomes
almost impossible to construct a cohesive
argument that reflects and represents all of
these disparate voices. At best, we see ourselves
as facilitators and our platform as one that
poses pertinent questions to leading voices and
thinkers who deliver their valuable insights.
This issue seeks to find, question and report;
presenting varying points of view in the hope
that this creates healthy debates and sparks
constructive conversations.
This December issue, titled ‘Whose South
is it Anyway?’ grapples with and addresses
some pertinent questions relating to concepts
of the ‘Global South,’ such as: What is
considered the ‘Global South’? Who does this
definition encompass and what are its effects?
And, increasingly, are these definitions and
delineations even still relevant?
This particular edition takes its name from our
positioning piece by Valerie Kabov, ‘Whose
South is it anyway?’ (p.11). Kabov lends an
indispensible voice to this issue, both as the
founder and director of First Floor Gallery
(Harare) and, we’re pleased to announce, one
of our team as an ART AFRICA Editor-at-
Large!
As Kabov posits, “terms like Global North and
Global South are deceptive in their simplicity.”
While the bulk of economic capital resides in
the North, the Global South is home to more
than eighty percent of the population and
has become synonymous with the ‘emerging
market’ – providing all manner of resources,
services and commodities; one of which is
contemporary art.In her article, ‘Voices From the Global South’
(p.12), AFAI’s research manager, Sophia
Olivia Sanan touches on the investigation
into dominant discourse, recognising the
“ever increasing migrational flows... and
environmental instability [that] are some of the
defining characteristics of globalisation.”There is evidence to suggest that artistic
production from the Global South is further
emerging in its own right – festivals like
Videobrasil (to which we were invited, p.100)
are testament to the fact that the South can
host these kinds of collaborations and have
been for quite some time now (very successfully
too). On our own shores, art fairs like Bamako
Encounters (ART AFRICA was in Mali for the
opening event, p.122), the FNB JoburgArtFair
(extensive review by Ashraf Jamal on p.150) and
LagosPhoto Festival have all shown substantial
growth over the past decade. It is, in part, due
to this growth that fairs such as 1:54 and Also
Known As Africa (see our feature on p.200) have
sought to encompass the depth of emerging
talent that Africa has to offer.Although the ‘Global South’ can be a sticky
concept to navigate, the positioning piece, ‘A
Concept in Flux’ (p.228), by Brazilian curator
and editor, Sabrina Moura employs new ways of
thinking about it. As she points out, “concepts
are often used as discursive tools to support
artistic and curatorial projects that need to
resort to the realm of theory.” Our question
is: What are we doing about it? Hopefully, by
keeping a “contextualised perspective, we might
circumvent getting lost amid generalisations
that respond only to the demands of whichever
practice it helps to validate and edify.”EDITORIAL
ARTAFRICA
- Brendon and Suzette Bell-Roberts, founders and editors-in-chief