Euromight.com – Online Resource

We are pleased to present a new online resource: Euromight.com which: “…celebrates Europe’s citizens/residents who share African
heritage, telling their stories, discussing their concerns and marking
the events that are important to their everyday lives.
We report original stories from a wide network of contributors across
the EU and curate content which focuses on the Afro-European
experience. We are mindful of our role as educators in this process
since much of the content we produce is not readily available in
Europe and beyond.”

As such Euromight.com has recently been selected by the British Library as a site of importance which will take part in their UK Web Archives project. This project will preserve selected sites for permanent use in the future and seeks to conserve websites that publish research,  that reflect the diversity of lives, interests and activities  throughout the UK, and demonstrate web innovation.

Some recent exclusive stories on Euromight.com have included:

CONFRONTING INEQUALITY IN GREECE -

http://www.euromight.com/greeceinequality.php

BLACKS IN NORTHERN IRELAND FIND THEIR VOICE -
http://www.euromight.com/afroirish.php

FRENCH ACTIVIST TACKLES RACISM - http://www.euromight.com/rokhayadiallo.php

Thanks to Olive Vassell – founder and managing editor of Euromight.com – for passing on the information about this great resource.

Representations of Slavery Symposium Audio Now Online!

Selected images from : Positive Negative Guardian Paperworks via: http://www.lubainahimid.info/

We are happy to announce that audio recordings for the symposium recently held at Newcastle University – Representations of Slavery in Neoliberal Times – are now freely available online.

The recordings of papers and subsequent roundtable discussion are available to listen to on the School of Arts and Cultures webpages, these include:

Alternative Empathies: Representing Slavery’s Affective Afterlives
, Carolyn Pedwell, Newcastle University

Negative Positives: The Guardian, The Slave, The Wit and The Money, 
Lubaina Himid, Centre for Contemporary Art, University of Central Lancashire

Debt, Freedom and Slavery in Neoliberal Times,
 Julia O’Connell Davidson, University of Nottingham

To listen to these recordings click here. Thanks to sympoisum organiser Daniel McNeil for letting us know about this great resource.

Video: Stuart Hall On the Limits and Possibilities of Cosmopolitanism

This week’s video is an interview with Stuart Hall on the subject of Cosmopolitanism. Conducted by Pnina Werbner in March 2006, this interview is part of a series of video Interviews with Leading Thinkers undertaken by researchers at the University of Cambridge, now digitized and available online.

In this 40 minute video Pnina Werbner asks Stuart Hall to talk through his understanding of the place cosmopolitanism has: as a discursive concept and; in its applications to the contemporary world. Distinguishing between a cosmopolitanism of the above and the forced or obligatory cosmopolitanism of the below – which he terms ‘vernacular cosmopolitanism’ – Hall considers the connections between cosmopolitanism and: diaspora, universality, liberalism, identity and globalization.

A particularly interesting conversation ensues as Werbner asks Hall to focus on his personal relationship to and experience of cosmopolitanism. This leads Hall to consider understandings, realisations and possibilities of the concept across time and space: in Caribbean, African, European and Middle Eastern contexts of the past, present and future.

To view other videos in the Interviews with Leading Thinkers series click here.

New Provincialisms: Curating Art of the African Diaspora

La Fantasie Art Project (by caribbeanfreephoto via flickr)

New Provincialisms: Curating Art of the African Diaspora by Leon Wainwright is now available to read in full at the Black Atlantic Resource:

Over the past decade there have been various curatorial attempts to assemble and understand the art of the African diaspora and to offer a more global sense of the histories from which such works emerge. The diaspora concept once promised fresh possibilities for imagining community beyond the nation; however, its internationalist emphasis has given way to a provincializing attitude grounded in United States – centered experiences.

When art exhibitions are designed to mobilize the African diaspora and to reverse its traditional exclusion from art history and public memory, it is less clear whether such designs also prove capable of reversing the direction of this new provincialism. And yet, while the otherwise international relevance of the diaspora analytic has become susceptible to political and social priorities with a locus in the United States, much can be gained from interrogating the ways in which this locus generates new “margins” and “centers” in the world of art and blackness.

To view the full article at the Black Atlantic Resource now click here.

[First published in Radical History Review, Issue 103 (Winter 2009) pp. 203-213: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1215/01636545-2008-041]

Toxteth 1981

(Via liverpoolmuseums.org)

A community exhibition to mark the 30th anniversary in July 2011 of the riots in Liverpool 8. A timely exhibition which features the memories and photographs of local people who were affected by Liverpool’s riots in the 1980s. The exhibtion includes previously unseen materials.

At the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool: 1 July 2011 – 1 July 2012.

For more information click here

Glenn Ligon: America

The Exhibition Glenn Ligon: America is the first comprehensive mid-career retrospective devoted to this pioneering New York–based artist. At the Whitney Museum of American Art March 10–June 5, 2011.

The exhibition travels to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the fall of 2011 and to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in early 2012.

Reviews at: The New Yorker Timed Out New York Hyperallergic

Timed Out: Art and the transnational Caribbean

Timed out: Art and the Transnational Caribbean (Rethinking Art’s Histories) is a new book (Manchester University Press, 2011) by Leon Wainwright.

‘Timed out’ is a pioneering study of modern and contemporary art in the aftermath of empire. It addresses the current ‘global turn’ in the study of art by way of the transnational Caribbean, offering an in-depth account of the Atlantic world in relation to the mainstream history of art. It looks at why art of the Anglophone Caribbean and its diaspora have been placed not only ‘outside’ but ‘behind’ the dominant art canons, and how the politics of space and time can be used to rethink the global geography of art.

‘Timed out’ will appeal to all those working in the field of modern and contemporary art and world art history, transnationalism and the geography of global visual culture. To read more click here…

Leon Wainwright is Lecturer in Art History at the Open University. Click here to find out more about the author and selected earlier publications.

Curatorial Intensive in the City of Brotherly Love

Philadelphia Skyline via Wikimedia Commons

On Friday, May 6 MoCADA’s Curatorial Fellows embarked on a Curatorial Intensive to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So here is their latest post filling you in on the experiences of that day…

MoCADA’s Director of Exhibitions, Kalia Brooks and Director of Education, Ruby Amanze, both of whom hail from the city of brotherly love, planned a 12 hour day of studio visits, meetings with arts professionals, and trips to local arts and African Diaspora institutions. Throughout the day central themes and framing questions emerged. First, what is the artistic and political value of collecting? To what extent can curating serve as a political intervention into a space? What role does technology play in emerging curatorial practices? And finally, what are the political implications of distinguishing between art spaces and ethnically specific cultural institutions?

The day began with a studio visit with photographer and musician Bianka Brunson and visual artist Lorna Williams. Both women’s works express interest in collecting and creating curated space, whether it be made up of physical objects, sounds, or experiences. Brunson, whose music and photography are in constant interplay, creates abstract works that bridge natural elements with human-made sounds/structures through both mediums. Brunson makes her way throughout the Philadelphia music scene, playing DJ sets and riffing off of the energy of the crowds …Read more

Williams presented a large scale mixed-media sculptural piece entitled birth-right, currently on view at the Maryland Institute College of Art where she is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Williams explained that the piece is extremely personal …Read more

Brunson and Williams’ artistic interest in purposefully constructed space is mirrored in the character of their shared quarters. The two women live and work in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood in a sunny loft filled with plants, books and collected objects. A large altar stands erect in the corner of the main room and a number of guitars hang from the walls as usable art …Read more

Immediately following the studio visit with Brunson and Williams, the Curatorial Fellows and staff traveled to the Temple University campus to visit the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. The Blockson Collection is housed in a large room filled with glass cases of rare books, sculptures, paintings and memorabilia that tell a history of Philadelphia, Afro-America and a wider African past …Read more

Spending time with the materials and speaking with the staff raised questions about the importance of collecting as a means for documenting histories of marginalized groups. Blockson’s collection holds monumental weight as one of the primary depositories for historical items related to Black experience in the United States and abroad. Similar to Lorna Williams’ birth-right, and the Kensington loft, the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection uses objects to tell a specific story that is at once personal, ancestral and political. However, Williams’ and Brunson’s art and loft are read as subjective …Read more

This issue of curatorial practice as a tool for disrupting a dominant narrative was further complicated during the group’s visit to an unconventional art space, Eastern State Penitentiary. According to the institution’s promotional materials, Eastern State is described as, “The world’s first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire patience — or true regret — in the hearts of criminals.” Eastern State was active for 142 years, but today the prison is a tourist attraction. Eastern State has a site-specific installation art program, where the penitentiary invites artists to install works within the prison walls. One of the featured installations is a video work entitled Beware the Lily Law by artist Michelle Handelman. Handleman’s installation was undoubtedly a radical intervention into the space. She developed and projected a series of three monologues based on the experiences of gay and transgendered prison inmates on the wall of one of the prison’s cells …Read more

Later that day, the group was greeted by Richard Watson, Curator of Exhibitions at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). AAMP is in the heart of Philadelphia’s downtown district, and serves mainly as a historical and cultural museum. Watson led a guided tour of the museum’s current exhibitions and discussed AAMP’s new direction. He explained that the use of technology is at the core of AAMP’s current exhibitions model …Read more

The Curatorial Intensive illuminated new perspectives on collecting, the use of technology and the political potential of curatorial interventions in dominant spaces. These common threads tied the day’s itinerary together, connecting institutions and individuals that at first glance may seem entirely unrelated.

Contributed by:
Isissa Komada-John, Curatorial Fellow

To read the full version of this post click here

MoCADA and The Curatorial Fellows Take Verge Art Brooklyn by Storm

From March 3 to March 6, the Curatorial Fellows successfully curated our first space at the Verge Art Brooklyn Fair. The three day event drew local, national, and international artists and galleries to Dumbo. MoCADA was represented in two ways: with a booth, and by the artist Jeff Sims and his piece “Straddle” in the the Brooklyn Art Now Survey exhibition. The MoCADA booth utilized a multimedia approach and functioned as a venue to debut an episode of the Soul of Brooklyn and  Diaspora Zine, create an artistic intervention, inform the public about the museum, fund-raise, display past exhibitions, and network.

We utilized a multimedia display in the MoCADA booth to show the various programs that the museum is engaged in.  The space was flanked by two projections. One which displayed MoCADA’s new logo and the other projection presented a slide show of images from past exhibitions and an episode of Soul of Brooklyn TV.  The  TV episode is currently featured on Soul of Brooklyn’s website which “is your quintessential online and printed guide to discovering the unique cultural and business renaissance currently taking place within Brooklyn’s African Diaspora”. Several times during the fair, these elements drew a crowd. The Soul of Brooklyn episode features a lengthy segment on MoCADA’s mission. With interviews from the Founding and Executive Director, Laurie Cumbo, the Director of Exhibitions, Kalia Brooks, and the Director of Education, Ruby Amanze. In addition, photographer Barron Claiborne and musician Blitz the Ambassador, along with the trailer of his film, Native Sun (May 2011) were featured.

The Curatorial Fellows created  our first publication, Diaspora Zine. The concept of the zine was to employ a DIY aesthetic to can spread MoCADA’s message to a wider audience. The first edition of the Zine was created for Verge Art Brooklyn and included … read more

To read this post in full click here

Contributed by: Jabari Owens-Bailey

“Ain’t I A Woman” Revisited: Getting to know the Artists

Zemen Kidane, Curatorial Fellow at MoCADA asked three talented artists, whose work was displayed in the Ain’t I a Woman exhibition at MoCADA, questions on their art and their experience with MoCADA. Elizabeth Colombo, Phoenix Savage, and Eric Alugas come from diverse backgrounds and work in dramatically different media. It is these assorted perspectives that make MoCADA a space for colorful dialogue. Get to know these artists and look out for more of their work in the future!

ZK:Zemen Kidane
EC: Elizabeth Colombo
PS: Phoenix Savage
EA:Eric Alugas

ZK: Where do you live and where are you from?

EC: I live now in Harlem. I was born and raised in France and my family is from Martinique.

PS:I currently live in Atlanta. I have been here for the last 3 years, while I do a MFA program from Georgia State University. I am departing the area in a few short weeks, to live and work in Nigeria on a Fulbright Fellowship.

EA: I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I now live and work in New York City, and exhibit here, as well as in Europe, and throughout the United States.
ZK: Can you explain what you took away from the concept of the exhibit?

EC: Definitely a feeling of empowerment. Black women- actually all women- regardless of race, social upbringing, and education have been put down throughout centuries. But let it be one brave enough to lead the march and everyone will follow.

PS:I walked away thinking MOCADA really knew how to throw down at an art opening. I enjoyed the vibe of the opening reception. The beauty of the people really caught my attention. On a more artistic note, I loved the exhibition being in a space of blackness that edified the creative process. That really moved me, and bolstered my resolve that I am living my destiny.

EA: The feelings that prevailed through and after the exhibition were respect, admiration, and pride, for the institution. The concept: “the abstract body of the black woman,” was a difficult, if not maddening one. Difficult concepts, however, may very well be the most worthy of effort. I am glad I participated in the exhibition, and that MoCADA had the courage to take on the concept.

To read the discussion in full including the artists’ answers to the following questions click here.

ZK: How was presenting your work for the exhibition? … read more

ZK: How is Diaspora displayed in your piece(s)? … read more

Contributed by: Zemen Kidane, Curatorial Fellow