Inside the palace of the Vodoun high priest in Benin, there is a framed portrait of George Floyd, flanked by Breanna Taylor and Rashad Lewis. Below their images is a line written in red letters: “Remember your ancestors.”
Nigerian curator Azu Nwagbogu saw this on a research tour of the country he undertook after being given the honor of curating the first pavilion for Benin at the Venice Biennale. In December 2022, he had received an unexpected phone call from the President of Benin asking him to organize the first pavilion for the West African nation. Nwagbogu then went on a journey across the country to meet with traditional rulers and cultural custodians to discuss the history, culture, art of Benin and the impact of the transatlantic slave trade.
The title of the stand ‘Everything Precious is Fragile’ was inspired by Nwagbogu’s encounters with these rulers and the concept of the Yoruba Gèlèdè which focuses on the feminist idea of ”re-commissioning” or the defense of give and take. The pavilion, funded entirely by the government of Benin, is in between a total of 13 African countries that feature official national pavilions—up from nine in 2022.
Benin: Curator Azu Nwagbogu on his trip to Benin. Credit: Ugochukwu Emeberiodo
Among the 13 are three additional debutants who are holding their first national stands. It is Senegal, which will present “Bokk – Bounds” by the Senegalese Alioune Diagne at Arsenale, which will be staged with Galerie Templon. Ethiopia presents “Prejudice and Belonging”, with the work of Tesfaye Urgessa and Tanzania presents the group performance “A Flight in Reverse Mirrors”. Returning African nations include Egypt, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
“We are not interested in treating Venice as some kind of Mecca where we go every two years and that’s it,” noted Nwagbogu. “Europe is not our center. Europe is an important place for conversation, but it is not the center of the world. After Venice, we need to bring the focus and intellectual capital back to Africa to have important conversations.”
The 13 pavilions are not alone – there are 18 other national pavilions from Europe and North America showcasing artists from Africa or the diaspora. These include the Dutch Pavilion, which showcases the work of the Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise, a collective of Congolese artists. Kapwani Kiwanga, a Canadian artist originally from Tanzania, presents new work for Canada. Franco-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet represents France, co-curated by Cindy Sissokho and Céline Kopp. Portuguese-Angolan artist Mónica de Miranda presents work alongside others at the Portuguese national pavilion, and British director John Akomfrah, originally from Ghana, represents Great Britain.
John Akomfrah in his studio in London, 2016. Photo: © Jack Hems, courtesy of the British Council.
Artists from the continent can also be found in Pedrosa’s main exhibition “Foreigners Everywhere” — where 54 artists out of 331 artists and collectives are African. Among the participants is Kudzanai Chiurai from Zimbabwe, known for his mixed media work that includes paintings, videos, drawings and photographs to address socio-political issues in his home country. Sudanese painter Ibrahim El-Salahi, who is 93 years old, will also be present. He is known for his paintings and drawings that combine motifs from African, Islamic and Western art.
“Venice is like an old lady that needs to be fixed,” Cameroonian-French curator Simon Njami said in a telephone interview from Venice. He has curated ‘The Blue Note’ for the Ivory Coast Pavilion, featuring five Ivorian artists inspired by the blue note in jazz music, which has its roots in the music of African slaves. “I think more African countries understand the importance of soft power. The Venice Biennale is still a platform where people can show their skills and speak for themselves. I think there is a growing awareness of the importance of viewing art. Africa has a certain image and art can give another image.”
Work by Alioune Diagne, who represents Senegal at the Venice Biennale. Photo © Laurent Edeline. © Courtesy of the artist and TEMPLON, Paris, Brussels, New York
“[‘The Blue Note’] it’s about resilience,” Njami said. “It is a double-edged lesson for Africans and all people who complain that they are victims because of colonization. The lesson is that people with nothing to their name and no country invented the blue note that revolutionized music because it created blues jazz. You don’t have to be rich to be able to say something.”
Njami, who previously described Africa’s participation in Venice as a mess, believes this year more African governments are supporting their country’s artists through representation that allows them to showcase their art on their own terms rather than through the eyes of foreign curators. . He said more African nations will likely be represented in Venice in the future as more governments realize the social and political value of showcasing their art internationally.
But they don’t always come back. Ghana, which made an impressive debut in 2019 and is participating again in 2022, is not fielding a stand this year. A Ghanaian art dealer said by phone that this was due to a lack of funding.
The artists themselves are often key lobbyists who help promote national pavilions and keep them going year after year. “Since I was an art student, I always wondered why Ethiopia was not represented in Venice,” said Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa, who is representing the country for their first booth, in an interview.
Tesfaye Urgessa represents Ethiopia at the Venice Biennale. Courtesy of Tesfaye Urgessa and Saatchi Yates. Photo by Kameron Cooper.
Urgesa’s captivating abstract representational paintings, which are determined and unapologetic, reflect his experiences of racism after he moved from Ethiopia to Germany. A year ago he requested support from the Ministry of Tourism. After a long discussion and a lot of convincing, the ministry officials agreed. However, funding for the Ethiopian pavilion did not come from the state, but was raised by private donors.
Nigeria, which held its first pavilion in 2019, is another example of a mix of government blessing combined with private funding (other pavilions at the Giardini, such as the United Kingdom, have mixed sponsorship). Titled ‘Nigeria Imaginary’, it will feature works by Ndidi Dike and Yinka Shonibare in a group show. Its main sponsorship comes from the Qatar Museums. “There is a real sense of optimism and dream that sits in the Nigerian soul,” Aindrea Emelife, art historian and curator of modern and contemporary art at MOWAA (the Museum of West Africa due to open this fall) and the curator of the pavilion, told his interview.
“Nigerians often say, ‘no ailment is permanent,'” noted the curator, who is based between Lagos and London. “It’s such an interesting phrase because it recognizes that things right now aren’t good, but it still reflects the opportunity that things could be better.” He highlighted how the theme of the pavilion harks back to specific moments in Nigerian history and personal memory. It also “explores untrodden paths and a new imagination for the nation,” he added.
Aindrea Emelife curates the Nigerian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Courtesy of Aindrea Emelife
While African art is more present than ever, questions of misrepresentation remain. The Cameroon stand is again curated by the Cameroonian Paul Emmanuel Loga Mahop and Sandro Orlandi Stagl from Italy. Stagl was one of two foreign curators responsible for Kenya’s controversial 2015 performance, which the African nation has since repudiated. This year, the group exhibition is called “Nemo propheta in patria” (translation: no man is a prophet in his own land) and features Jean Michel Dissake and Hako Hankson.
Most importantly, increased African representation at the Venice Biennale means greater visibility and dialogue on the African continent as well. It also offers an opportunity to change the narrative. “Whether we show our works here in Venice or in a museum, wherever it is in the West is wonderful,” said CATPC’s Ced’art Tamasala and Matthieu Kasiama as they completed the installation in Venice. “But it means nothing unless we can share the benefits with our entire community and we can create a level playing field where we can all have access to the events that we’ve been shut out of until now.”
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