(^22) | APRIL 2016
EVENT
above (from left)
Namsa Leuba (Echo Art, Lagos)
Untitled I, from the series Cocktail
Fuji Crystal archive matte print
reverse mounted on acrylic
17.25” x 23.5”
2011
Ibrahim El-Salahi (Vigo Gallery, London)
Calligraphic Forms III
Ink on paper
9 Panels, each 17.75” x 17.75”
1989
GLOBETROTTING
WITH THE ARMORY SHOW
THE NYC FAIR PUTS AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES IN FOCUS
IN 2008, WHEN JUXTAPOZ PUBLISHED OUR SURVEY ON
contemporary African art, issue curator Simon Njami wrote
in his introductory essay, “The artists gathered in this issue
all have Africa in common. But their way of being African
is singular and cannot constitute a community that would
deny the individual.” Under that proclamation, we featured
Kenya’s Wangechi Mutu, South Africa’s Mikhael Subotzky and
Jane Alexander, Egypt’s Ghada Amer and Congolese artist
Cheri Cherin, amongst others. For us, it was an eye-opening
opportunity to cover the region, and in recent years, more
and more fairs and biennales have documented the art
movements from the world’s second largest continent.
The Armory Show 2016, held at Piers 92 and 94 in NYC from
March 3–6, 2016, will feature eight special projects that
brings together a group of emerging artists from Africa and
the diaspora under the title Focus: African Perspectives.
Curators of the projects, Julia Grosse and Yvette Mutumba,
specifically sought to create a program that sees the artists
“moving beyond conventional ideas of the African continent
and its ‘counterpart,’ the Western hemisphere.” Focus will
include artists Kapwani Kiwanga, Karo Akpokiere, Jared
Ginsburg, Lebohang Kganye, Mame-Diarra Niang, Emeka
Ogboh, Athi-Patra Ruga and Ed Young—all internationally
renowned artists in their own right.
It’s important to note the range of nations represented—
home countries of the artists and regions that have
showcased their work. From Cape Town to Berlin, Lagos to
London, the Focus: African Perspectives showcase has an
all-encompassing global reach. Njami, in 2008, wrote that a
movement—although slow and often times disingenuous—
was upon us. In 2016, The Armory Show celebrates that next
decade where another generation asserts itself and breaks
new ground.
Focus: African Perspectives will be on view at The Armory Show in
NYC at Piers 92 and 94, March 3–6, 2016.
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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