Saturday 29 June 2013

Tate opens Museum of Contemporary African Art



Inspired by Meschac Gaba’s Museum of Contemporary African Art 1997 – 2002, a 12-room installation which reflects on the nature of the museum and blurs the boundaries between art and the everyday, the Tate Modern version opens from July 3, September 22, 2013.  
According to Tate, it’s a construction of over a five year period in “multi-layered, humorous and questioning work” containing “a vast array of made and found objects from paintings, sculptures, drawings and videos to musical instruments, religious objects and shredded banknotes, all carefully arranged in the style of a West African market”.
 
One of the sections from the museum. PIC: c[o Tate

Tate adds that parts of the sections include Museum Shop, Library Restaurant, Marriage Room, Game Room and Salon, which offer visitors alternative environments for research, play, reflection and social interaction.

“The inclusion of several rooms from the Museum of Contemporary African Art in Documenta XI in 2002 cemented Gaba’s reputation as one of the most important African artists working today”


Friday 28 June 2013

'Akaraka'… A destiny with materials, wider art appreciation

By Tajudeen Sowole  

U.S-based artist, Nnenna Okore’s current art exhibition titled Akaraka:What Will Be, breaks the components of destiny into native themes and attempts to broaden art appreciation.

From the alley-like high headroom entrance view of new space, Art Twenty One, situated inside Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos where Akaraka is showing for the next two and half months, the central theme piece looms in the distance.


Hung in strings, slightly above the floor, Akaraka provides an appetizing welcome in its woven net form with newspaper, and finished in acrylic. The head and leg rooms, given Akaraka as well as the free-from-the-wall position, offers a walk-around option to feel the pretentious three dimensionality of the net-like measureless work. 


The artist declares that destiny “is the greatest embodiment of our existence”. Transitions across birth and growth as well as death “and decay”, she argues epitomizes the essence of destiny.

  Stressing the scholarly context of destiny in Akaraka, Okore says “is connected to the idea of destiny; even my weaving is a way of expressing the theme”. Most fragile of the works is the piece titled Sweeping Cycles. If turned vertical, it could depict a whirlwind. But in horizontal it appears like a tunnel from one angle.




Uncontrollable Force by Nnenna Okore



As the contemporary, conceptual global art space is getting stronger attention, and artists are challenged to meet the resilience of traditional forms of art, a gradual impression is being created, subconsciously though, that anyone can be an artist, after all.  But in Okore’s Akaraka, works such as Twist, Enigma series, Memories, Providence series, Perfect Imperfection and Mutant, all made from cloth, plaster and acrylic appear to have  been shielded from the fragility of material experimentation. 

With a theme that dwells on destiny and woven in native Igbo idioms, Okore adds strength to her concepts, drawing a line between idealist-based themes and art for the sake of contemporary practice. Most pronounced within this context is an oval-shaped piece at the extreme end of Art Twenty One. Titled Onwa N’etilu Ora and gigantic, even in its fragility state, has no translation. The more one looks and appreciates this piece, the more difficult it is to make meaning out of the title.

The Sun that Shines on Everyone,” Okore interprets. Sun and the eastern part of Nigeria have become more political in the last four decades. Okore’s Onwa N’etilu Ora is an extension of this expression, isn’t it?  “No… not at all”, she disagrees very sharply. Her blank countenance showed that, indeed, the work is just an innocent expression devoid of any tribal or political undertone. Really, should an artist or anyone for that matter, disown a glaring identity or pretend not to stand for something? Yes, Okore said, but offers that Akaraka stands for something that embodies native contents in contemporary rendition.

With quite a number of the works laced in Igbo titles, it’s a nostalgic expression. “Living in the west, you miss some of these things. And when you are here it’s netters to express and enjoy it”, she says.

Fast becoming prominent in her application of materials as the strength in creating art, Okore intercepts transitory stage of inanimate things before the point of decay and then offer them a new beginning. This much represents the texture of about half of the entire works on display, just as her rendition stresses the artist’s identity in creating art that is relatively fragile and suspiciously museum piece. And that nearly all the works in Akaraka are produced this year suggests that her work has been freed from the regular radar of collectors who intercept art in the studios, hence denying most artists opportunity to share their creativity with the larger public. It is common for artists here to blame constant direct studio sales for long delay in organising art exhibitions. Some artists, as established as they are, don’t have a solo show in seven to 10 years. So, Okore’s feat of two shows in less than six months is well understood. 

However, giving artists three months of uninterrupted exhibition space as exampled by Art Twenty One may encourage them to keep collectors from invading their studios so that they have enough works to exhibit. Art Twenty One opened in April with Cequel II: A shifting of a few poles by sculptor Olu Amoda and lasted for almost two months. The curator and founder of the space, Caline Chagoury had assured that every exhibition would be handled from the perspective of its peculiarity. 

Currently in Nigeria as a Fulbright scholar at University of Lagos (UNILAG) since last year from her base in North Park University, Chicago, U.S., Okore is having her second solo art exhibition in Lagos in the last four to five months. A few months ago, she showed a body of works titled Flow at The Wheatbaker for over two months. It is, however, quite curious that nearly all the works on display at the two shows were produced within one year

Let’s Talk Art with Oyetunji’s Baroyet workshop

By Tajudeen Sowole
 
For art appreciation to expand beyond its elitist circle and also contribute to job creations at the grassroots, artist, Bola Oyetunji’s Baroyet  Gallery brings art workshop to Ojodu, a border axis between Lagos and Ogun States.

Designed to cover various genres of art and crafts and accommodate participants across ages, the second phase, which holds during schools’ long holidays is coming just as the first workshop for adults was concluded recently.  
Under a slogan or theme Oyetunji tagged “Let’s Talk Art,”, the workshop features drawing. metal embossing and exhibition.
 When the workshops opened, speakers at the launching included President of Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) Marie Theresa Sojinrin; president of Bead Jewelry Designers Association of Nigeria, Mrs Betty Adepoju; and representative of Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr Yinka Fisher.
Oyetunji recalled that Baroyet was established in 2007, basically as a reference point in bead making, metal embossing, batik and general art making. Art education via workshops, she explained was added a year later. Reason: “ I found out that art education was diminishing in schools”. So, she started with the first programme “Ojodu and its Environs Community Art Awareness, which involved established artists, and workshops for senior secondary schools”. 
On education outside the formal setting, Sojinrin disclosed that FAWE “originally started with focus on women, but we realized the need to involve the young ones too”. She noted that as Baroyet is all about skill acquisition, “we want to assist, even though there are challenges of our own”.
Adepoju who claimed that the membership of her association has risen sharply, noted ignorance of the general public on the contribution of bead making to economic growth. “Bead jewelry is a big business, but unfortunately people do not take us seriously”. 
And if the over all projection of informal skill acquisition is about small business, the representative of SMEDAN, Fisher informed the gathering that the responsibility of his organization is to help private initiative such as Baroyet formalise their business. He said “we help in building capacity, networking and organizing training”. In fact, Fisher disclosed that “Mrs Oyetunji is one of our students”. He however cautioned that “we don’t give funding, but assist people to connect financiers”.
Also speaking at the launch, artist and teacher, Olojo Kosoko chided government for not coming to the aid of small businesses, particularly the creative sectors.  
Oyetunji elaborated on the workshops: “There will be dialog between the participants and the artist. it will be an opportunity for the participants to meet and talk with great elderly artists who have made their foot steps on the sounds of time in art practice. Participants will work with professional artists on drawing and metal embossing to produce great works fit for decoration and also earn them their pride”.
 
One of the past activities of Baroyet in bringing art to the grassroots involved a group art exhibition titled Home Grown. Which featured Oyetunji, Elder J.I. Akande, Olojo and Adedayo Dada.

Before seting up Baroyet, Oyetunji trained in Health Records Technology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), her spjpurn into art started in 1981, being wife of a Nigerian expatriate in oil rich South East Asian country, Brunei.
On her return to Nigeria in 1982, she met Bruce Onobrakpeya and worked as an artist-in -residence at his Ovuomaroro Studio, Papa Ajao, Mushin, Lagos. With works from other artists and of diverse mediums, Baroyet Gallery is expanding its scope to meet the mission of instituting major art attraction in that locality.
For the workshops of this year, there will be an exihibition of the works produced during the programme. Oyetunji assured that “by the time the workshop ends the participants’ knowledge in art will not be the same again. it will change their orientation to art practice and to life in general”.
 

USC Annenberg seeks arts journalists and bloggers for its Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship





The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism announced this week that applications for the 12th annual USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program in Los Angeles are now being accepted. 
The program, funded by the Getty Foundation, is a fellowship for arts, culture and entertainment editors, producers and writers. Most costs are covered by the fellowship, including air travel, hotel, transportation within the city and most meals. The fellowship will be held in Los Angeles from October 23 to November 2, 2013.

Applications are due July 9, 2013. To apply, visit: http://annenberg.usc.edu/getty.
Fifteen arts journalists who bring distinction to the field will be chosen from the international applicant pool. The fellowship accepts applicants who practice journalism online and in print, radio and/or television. Their areas of expertise may include architecture, literature, film, pop culture, the visual and performing arts. They can be critics or reporters or bloggers, and generalists or specialists. Staff journalists, affiliated freelancers and independents are welcome to apply. The fellowship is also interested in journalists who are artists. 

During this intense ten-day program, fellows will attend performances and exhibitions and visit private studios, rehearsal rooms, architectural firms and art schools for behind-the-scenes opportunities to meet renowned artists, arts directors, curators, administrators and accomplished journalists. There will also be a Think & Do workshop in conjunction with the Annenberg Innovation Lab, and other opportunities for balancing meaningful face-to-face dialogue with skill-building practice.

“Sparking creativity and conversation by bringing together a diverse mix of intelligent people who are deeply committed to the arts is what this fellowship is about,” said Sasha Anawalt, director of the fellowship and USC Annenberg’s M.A. in Arts Journalism program. “Together we aim to find and tell stories in new ways, thinking about journalism as a dynamic system and process rather than a product.” 

The only program of its kind in the United States, the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program continues to underscore the importance for arts journalists to cover the arts ecosystem as a whole. It places an emphasis on the visual arts and architecture of Los Angeles and the societal value of arts coverage and strengthening a global arts journalism network while working collaboratively toward making the arts accessible to all.

Joining Founding Director Anawalt will be Douglas McLennan, editor and founder of ArtsJournal.com and the project architect for the innovative Engine series of pop-up newsrooms, laboratories and websites in association with USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The Getty Foundation fulfills the philanthropic mission of the Getty Trust by supporting individuals and institutions committed to advancing the greater understanding and preservation of the visual arts in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Through strategic grant initiatives, the Foundation strengthens art history as a global discipline, promotes the interdisciplinary practice of conservation, increases access to museum and archival collections, and develops current and future leaders in the visual arts. It carries out its work in collaboration with the other Getty Programs to ensure that they individually and collectively achieve maximum effect. Additional information is available at www.getty.edu/foundation.

About the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a national leader in education and scholarship in the fields of communication, journalism, public diplomacy and public relations. With an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, USC Annenberg offers doctoral, master's and bachelor's degree programs, as well as continuing development programs for working professionals across a broad scope of academic inquiry. The school's comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the core skills of leadership, innovation, service and entrepreneurship and draws upon the resources of a networked university located in the media capital of the world.
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