Raphael Chikukwa: "From the Magiciens de la Terre to the Global Art Platforms: The Rise of Contemporary African Art"
Friday, May 14, 12:30pm CDT
Zoom, registration required
This presentation comes at a time when African contemporary artists are being showcased in a number of global art platforms like the Venice Biennale, Havana Biennale, Sydney Biennale, Documenta, Art Basel Miami, Art Basel Basel, Frieze Art Fair, Dakar Biennale, FNB Art Joburg, Cape Town Art Fair, Shanghai Biennale and Gwangju Biennale etc. and is here to take you through the journeys that were led by those that came back to us and how our contributions also added value to this development.
There are a number of iconic exhibitions that contributed to this development and this presentation will highlight some of the challenges and joys of working in and outside Africa for both artists and curators. What was said to be impossible when one is working from the continent, through collaborations and networking, today a number of African artists are global art figures that this presentation seeks to highlight. “From the Magiciens de la Terre to the Global Art Platforms” looks at how the 1989 exhibition became a turning point for African Art and its curators.
Born in Zimbabwe, Chikukwa holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts and Culture Management from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School and an MA in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University, which he attained as a Chevening Scholar. Chikukwa is a Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)/ International Curatorial Institute Centre for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) 2021 Fellow.
Chikukwa joined the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in 2010 as its Chief Curator and is now the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Before joining the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Chikukwa worked for over ten years as an independent curator. Raphael Chikukwa is the founding Curator of the Pavilion of Zimbabwe at the Venice Biennale, starting from the 54th, up to the 58th Edition. He is committed to a multitude of Committees, among them, High Line Plinth in New York 2020, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), the Delfina Foundation London UK, the Future Generation Art Prize, and served as juror for the Dakar Biennale in 2018.
Presented by the Open Practice Committee in the Department of Visual Arts