Post-Colonial Artist-Organisation in African Regions? (2017)

Co-curated seminar.

Post-Colonial Artist-Organisation in African Regions? was a seminar organised and co-curated for STRETCHED research project, led by artist Jason E. Bowman. The seminar took place during La Biennale di Venezia 2017, as a collateral programme in Sala del Camino, Campo S. Cosmo, Venice, IT – as part of the second Research Pavillion. 23 September 2017. With: Amarildo Ajasse, Élise Atangana, Stephanie Baptist. Co-convened with Mick Wilson.

Post-independence art institutions in many African countries demonstrate a move from Eurocentric-colonial models to decolonial practices. What are the organisational strategies originated by artists in post-colonial Africa? Given art’s ambivalent globalisation and the wish to institute 'alternative' models (self-organisation) outside market-determined and state-sanctioned models, what can we learn from self-organised African contexts?

STRETCHED: Expanding Notions of Artistic Practice through Artist-led Cultures (2015-2019) was an artistic-research project funded by the Swedish Research Council to enquire into the conditions, problematics and possibilities of artist-organisation. There were three primary researchers involved: Jason E. Bowman, Julie Crawshaw and Mick Wilson. Kjell Caminha worked on the project as a coordinator and research assistant.