Africa Reflected, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam

At the beginning of 2009 the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) team started a research project under the title ‘Africa Reflected’. This project looks closely at representations of Africa within contemporary art production, with the aim of finding alternatives to predominantly stereotypical mass media representations. The research is designed to arrive at a critical discourse: it is after all about how our images of Africa are shaped, and how we seek to nuance this with the support of visual art, and not about ‘development work’ which reinforces the average European citizen’s dominant image of Africa.

Participing curators : Kobena Mercer, Simon Njami, Didier Schaub, Nontobeko (Nonto) Ntombela Mabong, Koyo Kouoh, Oyinda Fakeye.

Participating artists: Jude Anogwih, Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo, Theo Eshetu, Achilleka Komguem, Vincent Meessen, Emeka Ogboh, Mark Aerial Waller,...

Various locations : SMBA/ Montevideo/Maison Descartes

October 12-14, 2009.

30 participants : see the SMBA website for details.