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Producing Narratives about African Photography

posted 12 juin 2017 / No Comments

Producing Narratives about African Photography

The Project : « Since the 1990s, contemporary photography in West Africa has gained recognition in the international art scene. Exhibitions, catalogues and publications have given many photographers wider exposure for their work. Nonetheless, our knowledge of these artists and the context in which they produce their work remains limited. For this reason, the interview method was chosen as the most effective way to learn more about this subject. The research team for the « Photography and Orality » project thus travelled from Germany to meet with around twenty West African photographers to speak with them face-to-face about their work. In the course of the interviews held in Dakar and Bamako, the way in which oral traditions interact with photography – and vice versa – emerged as a central concern.

These discussions provide insight into the local and global artistic environment affecting these photographers, while highlighting the aesthetic implications of the notion of orality in relation to the subjects depicted in photographs, in terms of the conception and reception of works. This online publication serves as a platform that brings together the voices of these photographers in video interviews conducted between 2011 and 2014, accompanied by a presentation of their photographs. In addition, curators, artists and researchers have commented on, analyzed and provided a wider context for the views expressed by the photographers, in a series of essays, oral contributions and videos. Exhibitions have also been organized within the framework of the project in Germany, Senegal and Mali, as well as a workshop held in Stuttgart in 2014. »

Friday, June 16, 2017, 8 pm at Acud Macht Neu, in Berlin

Publication Launch & Talk & African Music Videos:
– Publication Launch
1. Photography and Orality. Dialogues in Bamako, Dakar, and elsewhere
2. C& and Aperture collaboration: special edition Platform Africa

– Talk with Aïcha Diallo (C&), Bärbel Küster and Clara Pacquet (Photography and Orality project):
Producing Narratives about African Photography
– African music videos presented by Cornelia and Holger Lund (fluctuating images, Berlin)

Two new publications on photography from African perspectives will be launched in June 2017: an online interview project developed over the last few years with 17 photographers from Bamako and Dakar, as well as a special edition Platform Africa, profiling photographers, biennales, art spaces, and educational workshops, presented by Contemporary And (C&) in collaboration with Aperture magazine.

Bärbel Küster and Clara Pacquet from the Photography and Orality project and Aïcha Diallo, associate editor of C& will discuss their publications reflecting the diverse conversations on African photography over the last 20 years. The talk will lead to a broader discussion about the narratives, dialogues, and polyphonic presences of African photography and image-making today.

Cornelia and Holger Lund (fluctuating images) will complement the evening by giving an insight into their latest research on African music video. Playing with Afrofuturism, hyper-digital aesthetics, and allusions to African traditions the videos enter the global stage with a self-confident yet ironic attitude.

– Publication Launch:
1. Photography and Orality. Dialogues in Bamako, Dakar, and elsewhere
Preview: dakar-bamako-photo.eu/en/
2. Special edition Platform Africa
More information: www.contemporaryand.com/de/magazines/c-and-aperture-magazine-announce-collaboration/