ARTAFRICAFEATURE / ARTS WRITING IN AFRICAWIELDING THE PEN / HOUGHTON KINSMAN 10/10 ARTAFRICA
the Internet provides, in the sense that it’s a common activity wherever you are, yet it
also allows for specificity. However, local contexts and local conditions deserve local
means. There is the reality that throughout the continent, there are different conditions
of networked connectivity, for instance there are places where bandwidth is simply not
available. This means that the content is just not reaching audiences. So, I think that
rather than one or the other, it’s a combination of different types of media, whether that
be audio (in some type of podcast or radio), to printed or digital newspaper.- OLIVER ENWONWU
Oliver Enwonwu is an artist, curator, art administrator, and
brand strategist. He is also the director of Omenka Gallery and
founder/editor, Omenka, Africa’s first art, business and luxury-
lifestyle magazine. He writes regularly on art and investment for
several important publications including the Vanguard newspaper,
as well as speaks, moderates and participates in public events and
discussions.HK: As interest in Africa’s art scenes grow, how
have you (in establishing and growing Omenka
magazine) managed to balance the act of broadening your audience without
compromising the magazine’s criticality?Oliver Enwonwu: As part of our approach to broaden our audience, Omenka was
established not as a regional magazine, but as one with an expanded focus that includes
not only Africa, but also its related diasporas. In addition, our inter-disciplinary
approach embraces the increasing blurring of boundaries between disciplines in the
creative arts to include architecture and design, which results from the expression of
identical concepts and related ideas. In this regard, in-depth interviews with key experts
including curators and collectors, as well as studio visits with artists in these related
genres are featured without compromising its criticality. As art is inextricably linked
with wealth, another strategy is the inclusion of a small section on luxury-lifestyle.
This is targeted at building art appreciation among newer audiences.These developments have resulted in an increase of our pages from eighty to one hundred
and ninety-six for an African-based magazine focusing on art. Consequently, we are able
to provide even more pages of critical and thought-provoking content to our audience.
In line with our focus to keep abreast of not only contemporary developments, but also
attract even broader audiences, Omenka includes an extensive Market File section, which
provides in-depth evaluation of the emerging African market. This section also profiles
the dealers, auctioneers and patrons who define emerging trends, and features Dossier,
which is an analysis of previous records of a reputed artist’s work as well as estimations
of future values.