Reviews of The Global Africa Project, New York

Posted under Views on 23rd January, 2011

'The Global Africa Project at the New York Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is an unprecedented exhibition exploring the broad spectrum of contemporary African art, design, and craft worldwide. Featuring the work of over 100 artists working in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and the Caribbean, The Global Africa Project surveys the rich pool of new talent emerging from the African continent and its influence on artists around the world. The exhibition actively challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity, and reflects the integration of African art and design without making the usual distinctions between “professional” and “artisan.”

Co-curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, MAD's Charles Bronfman International Curator, and Leslie King-Hammond, Founding Director of the Center for Race and Culture at MICA, The Global Africa Project is organized around several thematic ideas, aimed at encouraging audiences to discern how global African artists grapple with the commodification of art production and the meaning and value of art in society.

J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere Untitled from the Headdress Series | 2004

The review by Ariella Budick in the Financial Times this week focuses less on the project's impressive scale (exhibition features over 100 artists) or the quality of work, and more on the Curators' rejection of the familiar, museum style framework expected with an 'African' show, claiming that 'having discarded “look”, heritage or geography as unifying forces, the curators are left with a squirming mass of free associations'. She takes issue with the Curators' thematic ideas, suggesting they have a 'tenuous' tie to Mother Africa: 'The curators treat Africa as a concept, but want it to embrace, well, everything. They like the ideological edge in many of the works, but reject the oppositions that a political point of view implies. They brandish categories but prefer not to be restricted by them. And yet making choices is the essence of the curator’s profession and the operating principle of all museum shows.' On the whole, Budick applauds the selection of artists and works, stating 'fortunately, Sims and King-Hammond have less trouble making the crucial distinction – the one between good and bad. That is why the exhibition beguiles nearly as much as it disappoints. All it needs is a little ruthless clarity.'

Perhaps clarity on this scale is impossible, as pointed out by Rachel Wetzer for Hyperallergic, 'Given that Africa is the world’s second largest continent, with a population of over one billion dispersed among 54 distinct countries — never mind the millions of people of African descent living elsewhere — any attempt to survey its production and influence seems impossible.' She writes that The Global Africa Project Curators have instead chosen to 'embrace the unwieldiness of the notion of “Africa,” creating an exhibition that intentionally raises more questions
than it answers.'

Both Wetzer and Budick agree the exhibition's unusual curatorial organisation is also its strength, the former enthusing 'Arguably the most exciting — and successful — aspect of The Global Africa Project is its inclusion of objects representing virtually every kind of creative production, from painting, sculpture, and photography to furniture, textiles, and wallpaper, as well as jewelry, fashion design, costumes, quilts, and baskets. Significantly, the exhibition has been organized thematically rather than by medium, allowing examples of various art forms to be seen alongside one another. This kind of arrangement rejects the hierarchical treatment of objects that privileges fine art over design, and design over craft.' Budick impresses the point: 'M’baye is a furniture maker, Nash a designer and manufacturer, and Hazoumè a fine artist, but the exhibition erases the boundaries between these arbitrary categories, celebrating creativity for its own sake.'

Daniele Tamagni | Willy Covari (Brazzaville) | 2008

The New York TImes sees a bigger picture: 'This ambitious if flawed survey exuberantly mixes contemporary art, design and craft by some 120 participants who are mostly African or of African descent. Setting an example of curatorial porousness that more museums should follow, it ranges from high-end luxury items (including art) to industrial design using recycled materials, from D.I.Y. urban renewal to resurgent craft traditions. The resulting friction between nonfunctional and functional, spiritual and practical, handmade and machine-made, and professional and self-taught is music to the eyes and will attune them to the important ideas and attitudes that continue to come out of Africa. This show had to be done. It should recur on a regular basis. Africa and its legacy will never be less important.'

In a review by Nadine Botha for Times Live, the Curators' message comes across with more clarity: 'By regarding Africa as an idea rather than a place, the curators have not only conflated African countries, but also conflated them with Germany, the Netherlands, the US and every other country in the world, debunking the national categories completely. Instead, African art, design and craft are seen as a style that comes with a certain attitude. While no generalisations exist, the curators point out some shared characteristics of work in Global Africa - a focus on surface and pattern, the use of unexpected materials and a mix of traditional and contemporary techniques.' She goes on to write that 'such a global view neatly sidesteps the war, famine, poverty, corruption and game-farm stereotypes. What's more, through collaborations with designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Stephen Burks, Patricia Urquiola and Missoni, African style is becoming an exportable commodity.'

Sims and King-Hammond aim to communicate the idea that there is no singular position when it comes to 'Africa', and it is certainly not limited by look, media, geography or heritage. The project aims to expand the notion of Africa and present the artists for what they are: entrepreneurs adding an alternate option to "investment or aid": cultural production.

Until 15th May, 2011 at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)

'The Global Africa Project regards "Africa" as a concept or idea, rather than a continent or place.' Click here to read full review on Times Live

'This show had to be done. It should recur on a regular basis. Africa and its legacy will never be less important.' Click here to read full review on The New York TImes

'The Global Africa Project is an ambitious, intermittently edifying mishmash' Click here to read full review on Financial Times

Esther Mahlangu | BMW Art Car | 1991