Arts and media consultant Andras Szanto moderated the talk, engaging participants including Marie-Cécile Zinsou, President of the Fondation Zinsou at Cotonou in Benin; Touria El Glaoui, Founder of 1.54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London and New York; Koyo Kouoh, Artistic Director at RAW Material Company in Dakar; Raphael Chikukwa, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and Mark Coetzee, Director and Head Curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.
Chosen for their extensive knowledge on the contemporary African scene, the curators and art directors each share a passion for Africa. First to speak was Koyo Kouoh, who underlined that Africa, from the very beginning of humanity, has been the birthplace of creation. This creative act is a work in progress, ongoing since the beginning of time. Today, each institution must define its missions and objectives. All of the speakers agree that sometimes audiences need time to ‘consume’ art, to understand it and get to know it.
Challenge n° 1: bringing in the crowds
The main challenge faced today by museums and institutions is actually attracting the general public. However, Marie-Cécile Zinsou, whose foundation recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, explains that her museums welcome around 500,000 visitors a year. This impressive feat is the result of, among other contributing factors, an unremitting publicity campaign by way of social media as well as regular text messages reminding people of events and exhibitions.
“We are the future, which wasn’t previously the case”
The audience is young, and the institution is working to attract this audience through exhibitions, as well as festivals and concerts - the traditional weekend museum visit doesn’t exist in Benin.
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe, inaugurated in 1957 by the Queen Mother, on the other hand, is only able to stay open if public interest remains high. The museum’s chief curator, Raphael Chikukwa insists that the country’s colonial past, part of the British colonies until independence in 1980, has created a stigma. The museum must prove that it is of public interest if it wishes to obtain state contributions.
Answering a question from an audience member, lamenting that museums such as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town is located on the other side of the world, Mark Coetzee quite simply responded by explaining that for him, Cape Town is the center of the world.
Africa will prevail alone
Africa, being the largest continent in the world, comprises a plethora of states, subscribing to diverse political regimes as well as cultures and histories. This diversity is reinforced further by the North African Maghreb countries, which however are often forgotten when discussing contemporary African art, yet Touria El Glaoui insists upon the fact that what is of utmost importance, is the value of the artist, not their visibility.
“Contemporary African art is not a passing trend, we’re not China…”
For El Glaoui, contemporary African art is separate, it does not belong to the realm of passing trends, destined to disappear. She does not wish to speak of Africa the way we did with Chinese art, where international interest seems to have disappeared completely. The pathway for African institutions is maintained with sincerity by the quality and professionalism of those who are involved in their development. Passion, also, is an essential propellor. Having created 1.54 fair for contemporary African art, three years ago, El Glaoui’s commitment is to the artists she wants to follow and see succeed, providing them the platform at 1.54. Following two successful editions in London, the fair opened its doors in New York, with Koyo Kouoh in charge of the conference programming. Kouho adds that the scars of Africa’s long history have given way to shaping its artists.
The talk finished with a comment from the audience, one spectator reminding us of Kader Attia’s work, presented at Unlimited, Printemps Arabe (Arab Spring), which is centered around appropriation and reappropriation. An appropriate metaphor for contemporary African art.
