Press Release

Kiluanji Kia Henda, The Last Journey of the Dictator Mussunda N’zombo Before the Great Extinction Act I, 2017 Africa State of Mind 29 March to 15 June 2019

Africa State of Mind presents the work of a Their work is inspired by wide range of subjects: new generation of photographers from across urban nightlife in Johannesburg; Afrofuturism; the African continent. Curated by the eminent construction projects in Ethiopia; vodun (voodoo) writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, this major religion in ; and ’s LGBT+ community, exhibition features 13 artists who collectively among others. What unites these diverse interrogate ideas of ‘Africanness’. approaches is an emphasis on subjectivity to explore life and identity on the continent, by its The exhibition features artists working in inhabitants and diaspora. Together, the artists numerous fields from fashion to film, architecture reveal Africa to be a psychological space as much to literature. The artists are: Emmanuelle as a physical territory; a state of mind as much as Andrianjafy, Neil Beloufa, Girma Berta, Eric a tangible location. Gyamfi, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Lebohang Kganye, Namsa Leuba, Michael MacGarry, Sabelo The exhibition is curated around three main Mlangeni, Musa N Nxumalo, Ruth Ossai, Athi themes. Hybrid Cities documents the modern Patra Ruga and Michael Tsegaye. African in all its dynamism and contradictions. Zones of Freedom addresses the fluidity of Anne McNeill, Director of Impressions Gallery, gender and sexual identity through compelling says, “Africa State of Mind redefines Western portraiture, as well as the legacy of history, notions of Africa and brings fresh perspectives to from slavery and colonialism to apartheid. Inner contemporary international photography. We are Landscapes draws on the artists’ memories and proud to be working with Ekow Eshun and New fascinations to conjure individual interpretations of Art Exchange to bring this important exhibition to the African past and present. .”

Curator Ekow Eshun says, “popular Western Africa State of Mind is a touring exhibition by views of the continent remain distorted. New Art Exchange, Nottingham, curated by Ethnographic imagery of the colonial period Ekow Eshun, in association with touring partner presented Africans as the primitive people of a Impressions Gallery. dark place. Today, contemporary news reports still portray the continent as a place of chaos, corruption and disease. By contrast, Africa State of Mind features photographers that seek to address the complexity of what it means, and how it feels, to live in Africa today”.

Above: Lebohang Kganye, Tshimong ka hara toropo II, 2013

Opposite, top left: Michael Tsegaye, Future Memories VI, 2009. Courtesy the Artist & Addis Fine Art

Opposite, top right: Ruth Ossai, Chidiebere Ezugwu and Ifebuche Ezugwu Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria, February 2017

Opposite, below: Athi-Patra Ruga, Night of the Long Knives I, photographer Hayden Phipps 2013

Notes to Editors

For further information, images, or to arrange an interview with Ekow Eshun, contact Pippa Oldfield, Head of Programme at [email protected] or phone 01274 737843.

Credits Africa State of Mind is a touring exhibition by New Art Exchange, Nottingham, curated by Ekow Eshun. Presented in association with touring partner Impressions Gallery. Africa State of Mind is a project strand of NAE’s three year programme, Africa/UK - Transforming Art Ecologies, which has been supported by Arts Council, ’s Ambitions for Excellence funds.

Events Official Exhibition Launch with Ekow Eshun, Friday 29 March 2019, 6.00pm to 8.00pm. Free, no need to RSVP. Brunch with the Curator, Saturday 30 March 2019, 12.00pm to 1.30pm. Free, booking recommended.

Exhibition venue and opening hours: Impressions Gallery, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1SD Tuesday to Thursday 10am to 6pm Friday and Saturday 10am to 5pm Closed Sundays and Mondays Admission Free Tel. 01274 737843 Email [email protected]

Social Media Twitter: @ImpGalleryPhoto Facebook: Impressions Gallery Instagram: ImpGalleryPhoto #AfricaStateofMind

Ekow Eshun (born , 1968) is a writer, broadcaster and curator. He is Chairman of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, overseeing London’s public art programme in Trafalgar Square, and Creative Director of Calvert 22 Foundation, a leading arts space dedicated to the contemporary culture of Eastern Europe. He was the Director of the ICA, London, from 2005–2010. Eshun’s writing has appeared in publications including The New Times, Financial Times, , The Observer, Granta, Vogue, New Statesman and Wired. He is the author of Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa, nominated for the Orwell prize, and the editor of Africa Modern: Creating the Contemporary Art of a Continent. He appears on BBC Radio 4 shows Saturday Review and Front Row and has been a regular contributor to BBC 2’s Newsnight Review. www.ekoweshun.com

Impressions Gallery is a charity that helps people understand the world through photography. The Gallery collaborates with photographers and organisations nationally and internationally to commission, exhibit and publish photography. Our work with new emerging photographers and often-overlooked artists cements and builds their careers. Established in 1972 as one of the first specialist photographic galleries in Europe, Impressions has grown to become one of the UK’s leading independent venues for contemporary photography. We are located in the heart of Bradford, UNESCO City of Film. We work with local communities and young people to make photography accessible to all through our formal and informal education. Impressions is funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation and supported by Bradford Metropolitan District Council. www.impressions-gallery.com New Art Exchange (NAE) is a contemporary arts space in Nottingham that celebrates the region’s cultural richness and diversity. It is the largest gallery in the UK dedicated to culturally diverse contemporary visual arts. The venue presents an ever-changing programme of art exhibitions, creative activities for families and young people, film screenings, symposiums, lectures, festivals and a live performance programme of music, dance and theatre. www.nae.org.uk

Arts Council England believes that great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. They support activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Between 2018 and 2022, they will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk