David Adjaye and Simon Njami are at the helm of a new pan-African exhibition due to travel across the continent in 2011
artsouthafrica issues
Promotional flyer for Visionary Africa, including works by Jodi Bieber (bottom right) and Hasan and Husain Essop (bottom left)
TRIPOLI, Dec. 3, 2010 — To commemorate the 50th anniversary 22 African states in 2010 and 2011, the European Commission, together with architect David Adjaye, curator Simon Njami and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, in partnership with the Commission of the African Union, is launching a multi-disciplinary travelling exhibition.
Entitled Visionary Africa: Art at Work, the exhibition focuses on the importance of culture and creativity as development tools and includes a travelling exhibition of contemporary African artistic practices, residencies of African artists in different countries, and workshops on the relation between art and development.
The exhibition, curated by Simon Njami, was previewed in the Libyan city of Tripoli on Monday, in conjunction with the European Union-Africa Summit, and will travel to Addis Ababa (January 10 — 30, 2011) and Ouagadougou (February 19 — March 13, 2011).
The exhibition will be staged in a wooden pavilion designed by David Adjaye.
The aim of this new exhibition is to provide, through the work of African artists, “a snapshot of the transformations that have occurred on the African continent during the last half century, as well as put its future development into perspective,” reads a press statement.
