Sepuya’s portrait photography, described by the artist as ‘queer modernism’, disrupts the conventions of traditional studio portraiture, to become a site of homoerotic social relations: a space where the roles of artist and subject are constructed and contested. The book exposes Sepuya’s play with artifice and performance as it outlines the development of his visual practice, cataloguing how he uses his own body, and those of his intimate circle of friends and lovers, in ways which challenge notions of power and authorship. Deeply connected with the written word, he found in texts and literature a way to make sense of this ‘gap of language between desired object and desiring subject’ (p.14), the very gap in which his practice is located.
art
Creative Times & Living Testimonies (3): “Changing everything” – Keiskamma artists on life, work, and the COVID-19 Tapestry of Resilience
AiW note: This week, we have been following and introducing the stories behind the Keiskamma COVID-19 Resilience Tapestry, an epic, ambitious response to the pandemic made by the Keiskamma Art Project in the rural hamlet of Hamburg, South Africa. As… Read More ›
Creative Times & Living Testimonies (2): “Connections are Strength” – Keiskamma artists on the COVID-19 Tapestry of Resilience
AiW note: Yesterday, as part of our Keiskamma COVID-19 Resilience Tapestry series, we introduced four artists from Keiskamma, leading on from Monday’s introduction to the work, which is currently underway. Today, in the second of our “meetings” posts with the… Read More ›
Creative Times & A Season of Regeneration: Keiskamma Art Project’s Tapestry of Resilience – A Preface
AiW note: The Keiskamma Art Project, in the rural hamlet of Hamburg, South Africa, is embarking on an ambitious tapestry in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next five posts will introduce the Keiskamma COVID-19 Resilience Tapestry through the place,… Read More ›
Review: Physicality and Distortion in Dolla Sapeta’s ‘Skeptical Erections’
Mxolisi Dolla Sapeta is perhaps best known for his work as an artist and sculptor. In 2019, he made his literary debut with his first collection of poems, Skeptical Erections, published by Deep South. Reading Skeptical Erections makes it quickly… Read More ›
In other Words… AiW news and July’s wrap
As we move through the changed circumstances, timelines and spaces of now, we catch up on our monthly round-up of ‘other words’ – news on AiW’s radar, collated from across our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Please be in touch with… Read More ›
Q&A: Words on the Times & Women leading in the arts – Carol Bouwer & Elana Brundyn of the Norval Foundation share their insights in a time of disruption.
“We must ensure that the women on our continent know that Elana Brundyn with her illustrious background in the art world, chose to attach her name as CEO to this great monument, and to serve with Nku Heita Nyembezi who… Read More ›
Event: CIAD’s 2nd Biennial Conference: Textiles and Fabrics as Material Culture in the African Diaspora (10 October)
The Costume Institute of the African Diaspora’s (CIAD) 2nd Biennial Conference London College of Fashion New date: 10 October, 2020 Bringing together academics and researchers from across the world who are working within the field of Material Culture, African Fashion,… Read More ›
Exhibition: Michael Armitage at Norval Foundation (South Africa, June 2020)
Norval Foundation brings rising Venice Biennale star Michael Armitage to South Africa At just 35, Kenyan artist Michael Armitage is swiftly emerging as one of the most exciting young voices of contemporary art, heralded as a stand-out artist at the… Read More ›
Review – An Artist’s Awakening: Two Women in One by Nawal El Saadawi
Following on from our review of Saqi Books’ 2020 reprint of Nawal El Saadawi’s The Fall of the Imam (first published in 1987), ‘A Dizzying Tale of Duality’, we are now reviewing the second in our series of their re-releases,… Read More ›
Event: Time of the Writer Festival, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (16–21 March)
23rd Time of the Writer Festival University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) 16 – 21 March 2020 The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA), in partnership with eThekwini Municipality, will host the 23rd Time of the Writer… Read More ›
Exhibition: Toyin Ojih Odutola at Barbican, London (Until 26 July)
Toyin Ojih Odutola “A Countervailing Theory” Open now, and until 26 July 2020 Barbican Centre, London The first-ever UK exhibition by Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, this epic cycle of new work will explore an imagined ancient myth, with an… Read More ›
CFP: ASAUK Biennial Conference, 2020 (Deadline: 22 March)
28th ASAUK Biennial Conference Cardiff, Wales, UK 8 – 10 September, 2020 We are delighted to share that the call for papers and panels within the ASAUK thematic streams is open. There are 43 thematic streams on a range of… Read More ›
Call for Papers: 9th Igbo Conference: ‘Igbo Mobilities’, Nigeria (Deadline: 31 January)
THE 9TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL IGBO CONFERENCE Igbo Mobilities: People, Trade & Knowledge 02–04 July, 2020 Princess Alexandra Auditorium (PAA), The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria The Igbo Conference is an annual international conference usually held at SOAS, University of London…. Read More ›
Call for Papers: Africa 2020 (Abstract Deadline: 01 January)
Africa 2020 ‘Artistic, Digital, and Political Creation in English-Speaking African Countries’ Building on the recent partnership signed between Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) and the Festival de Marseille, the peer-reviewed journal of AMU research centre on Anglophone Studies (LERMA), E-rea, has decided to… Read More ›
Event: Crater Literary Festival, Enugu (12-14 December)
In partnership with AfricaWeek UK, the 3rd edition of Crater Literary Festival will be held in Enugu, Nigeria from 12 to 14 December, 2019. The theme is ‘Literary Renaissance in Africa’. The 3 day event is a celebration of African literature, art, drama, poetry, and… Read More ›
Exhibition: African Textiles from the Karun Thakar Collection, SOAS (Ends 14 December)
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London is hosting an exquisite exhibition of ‘African Textiles from the Karun Thakar Collection’, arguably one of the world’s largest private collections of African textiles. Featuring high quality material, that highlights the sophistication of historical… Read More ›
Exhibition: Sokari Douglas Camp (London, Ends 03 December)
We are delighted to share information about this exhibition: Sokari Douglas Camp’s work in welded steel is on show at Petronilla Silver in London. The sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp (CBE) works primarily in steel. Her subjects are rooted in Nigeria,… Read More ›
Events: Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (18 & 23 November)
ZEITZ MOCAA Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town is hosting a number of exciting exhibitions and events in November this year: A CONVERSATION BETWEEN KATE FOWLE AND KOYO KOUOH 18th November, 6pm Kate Fowle, Director of MoMA PS1, New… Read More ›
Event: Life Through Extraordinary Mirrors, October Gallery (Closes 23 November)
Life Through Extraordinary Mirrors Contemporary Art Exhibition At October Gallery, London Until 23 November 2019 Life Through Extraordinary Mirrors is an exhibition of contemporary art exploring the globalized twenty-first century. The exhibition includes the work of some of Africa’s foremost… Read More ›