Uriel Orlow, “Learning from Plants (Artemisia Afra)”, 2019. Wall painting by Musasa. © Julien De Bock
La Biennale De Lubumbashi
Future Genealogies, Tales from the Equatorial Line
October 24, 2019 – November 24, 2019
https://biennaledelubumbashi.org
La Biennale De Lubumbashi Opens with Great Succes!
The opening of the 6th edition of the Biennale de Lubumbashi was a big success! With more than 40 national and international artists, 9 exhibition venues, 3 forum days and a performance and film programme, the Biennale de Lubumbashi establishes itself as one of the most prominent artistic events on the African continent. Highlights in pictures on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Biennale De Lubumbashi & Atelier Picha Press Conference
The Biennale de Lubumbashi opened its doors on October 24th in the garden of Picha art center with a press conference that attracted both national and international press as well as many professionals and students from neighboring schools. Artistic Director Sandrine Colard introduced the concept of the Biennale entitled Future Genealogies, Tales from the Equatorial Line. This ambitious event aims to be a think tank on post-colonial, migratory and ecological issues on the African continent and beyond. The history of the Biennale was introduced by Sammy Baloji and Rosa Spaviliero, founding members of Picha, one of the main centers of contemporary creation of Lubumbashi carrying the Biennale for more than 10 years The press conference also allowed journalists and professional guests to discover the work of the artists who participated in the second Atelier Picha, under the artistic direction of Lucrezia Cippitelli. Read the article in Le Monde (in French).
Premiere Edition Forum Days First Edition
For the first time since its creation, the Biennale de Lubumbashi proposed three Forum Days to link history to contemporary art. Hosted by the University of Lubumbashi, the Forum Days brought together an ambitious panel of academicians and leading figures on the contemporary African art scene. Among them, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi artist, art historian and curator at MoMA New York, discussed with Sandrine Colard on the new genealogies of the arts to resituate the importance of contemporary art events on the African continent since the ’60 as places for a critical discourse on the position of artists of the continent compared to the rest of the world. Based on the practice of artists presented in the exhibitions, the Forum Days questioned the influence of Western paradigms in the process of reappropriating the narrations of the African continent.
Biennale Film Programme
The Biennale de Lubumbashi continues until 24 November with, in addition to the exhibitions, a film programme curated d by Rosa Spaliviero in echo with the theme of the Biennale, presented at the French Institute of Lubumbashi / Halle de l’Etoile.
