first word VENICE the 2017 Biennale’s curator Christine Macel Venice’s major art show had its first edition from France failed at this point in particular. in 1895 and already in its early years it opened Projects by only nine African artists were up European avant-garde art movements. shown in the main exhibition, themed “Viva African sculptures were shown in 1922, but Arte Viva,” at Arsenale and Giardini. after that year, African artists were not shown Most of the national pavilions showcase at the Venice Biennale until the 1990s. The only works by artists from their own coun- exhibitions “Authentic-Ex/Centric” curated tries. This can create an often unwelcome by Salah Hassan (2001),3 “Fault Lines” curated side effect, in that the artist thus becomes by Gilane Tawadros (2003),4 as well as the the “representative” of their country and is A Summer of Art? controversial so-called African Pavilion that seen first and foremost as the “South African“ by Nadine Siegert showcased the private collection of the Con- or the “Egyptian“ artist. Nevertheless, the golese businessmen Sindika Dokolo under 2017 was supposed to be one of these special the title “Check List Luanda Pop” (2007)5 years: a summer of the arts, also coined as were then dedicated to African and African “Art-Mageddon 2017” in some European Diaspora artists. In 2015, the Nigerian muse- 1 Peju Alatise Flying Girls (2013–2016) 1 art magazines. It was the year that aligned um director and curator Okwui Enwezor, Metal, fiberglass, plaster of Paris, resins, three major European art events—the Venice who had been in the same position at Docu- cellulose, black matte paint; installation size Biennale as well as Documenta in Kassel and menta in 2001, was the Head Curator of the 400 cm x 400 cm x 280 cm Skulptur Projekte Münster, the latter two in 56th Venice Biennale. Enwezor’s Biennale was Nigeria Pavilion, Venice Biennial Germany. Whereas Venice is on the agenda therefore also the reference point in particu- all photos by Nadine Siegert every second year for global art travelers and lar for the involvement of African artists, and the elite of artists and curators in the field of contemporary arts, they have to wait five or ten years respectively to visit Documenta and Skulptur Projekte Münster. In the debates on contemporary arts, these events are regarded as indicators for the developments in the international art world. The rare concurrence of the three events invited comparisons concerning format and content, the rigor and coherence of the curatorial concept, the quali- ty of the display and the selected art projects and—of particular interest for the readership of African Arts—the appearance of African and African Diaspora artists in the shows. One has to acknowledge the differences between the art events not only in regard to their specific history but also to their profile and mission: from the oldest Biennale of the international art world in Venice to two contemporary art events that, from their beginnings, have often been venues for very controversial debates around art, politics, and public space. The resulting debates around participation and neglect, presence and absence of artistic positions from the Glob- al South, therefore sit in front of different backgrounds. Whereas Venice is (still) based on the dual concept of a main show curated by an artistic director and the individual presence of a growing number of national pavilions, Documenta and Skulptur Projekte Münster were always meant to “curate the present”2 by working along more or less explicit curatorial concepts that also often reflected topical polit- ical discourses. All three events are born in very distinct moments in time and engage very differently with their own history. The Venice Biennale and Documenta will be the focus of this First Word, since I had the opportunity to visit only these two. Nadine Siegert is the Deputy Director of Iwalewahaus, University of Bayreuth, Ger- many. [email protected] VOL. 51, NO. 1 SPRING 2018 african arts 1 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00387 by guest on 28 September 2021 | selection for the Venice Biennial is consid- establishing a continuity of some years and 2 Mohau Modisakeng ered as very prestigious. Discussion of the showed very strong artistic positions with Passage (2017) Three channel video installation growing number of “African Pavilions” is rife compelling curatorial concepts and displays. South Africa Pavilion, Venice Biennial in the circuits of contemporary African art On the map of the Biennale they have already discourse and it is worthwhile to look into the become reference points. Zimbabwe is has 3 Admire Kamudzengerere dynamics of 2017. been present for four years and this continu- Registrar (2017) This year’s African pavilions showed both ity allows for an in-depth engagement with Ink, acrylic, crayon, and glue on phone book pages an increase in quality of display and con- the Zimbabwean art scene on an international Zimbabwe Pavilion, Venice Biennial tent—such as in the pavilions of Zimbabwe platform. Showing excellent works of young and South Africa—as well as a form of radical emerging artists, every edition speaks of a obstinacy in doing a pavilion against all dynamic art world in Zimbabwe despite its odds—as in the case of Kenya. The increasing political complications. number of pavilions representing African The Angolan pavilion has been present artists certainly shows that the formerly fixed since 2013, when it won the Golden Lion. It showcased (or attempted to do so) mostly structure of the international art world that was very straightforward this year with its Chinese artists and his very own works, this focuses on the Global North and manifests focus on the early films of Angolan artist year Kenya’s contemporary art scene took itself in Venice every second year has been António Ole in a very white-cube space (Fig. the reins. Despite having gone through the unsettled a bit in the last fifteen years. The 4). Tunisia’s project The Absence of Paths necessary planning steps and bureaucracy presence of the eight African pavilions at the (only its second pavilion since 1953) brought within Kenya, their approved government 57th Biennale in 2017 reconfirmed this slow in a performative dimension—issuing funding ultimately failed to materialize. but steady process. Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, universal passports to become a citizen of The artists organized themselves under the Egypt, Nigeria (Fig. 1), South Africa (Fig. 2), the world—that was definitely lacking in this curatorial guidance of Jimmy Ogonga and Tunisia, Zimbabwe (Fig. 3), and Kenya were year’s Biennale. Whereas Enwezor’s Biennale managed to create a kind of “low budget” present with their pavilions presenting very in 2015 had ongoing performance pieces such pavilion in a decamped school on Giudecca diverse curatorial concepts. Their history and as the reading of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, Island in the periphery of Venice. The charm financial background is another difference. this year performance and site-specific works of this pavilion—titled “Another Country” Whereas Egypt is part of the illustrious round were very rare. Nigeria was present for the with a certain tongue-in-cheek understate- of pavilions with a permanent venue in the first time, after its initial attempt in 2015 ment—arose not only from the selection of Giardini, all the others have to continually failed, with a pavilion titled “How about the artworks but also from the fact that the redefine their territory in Venice’s crowd- Now.” The Kenya Pavilion deserves a special space was very specific—simple and pure in ed urban space. Zimbabwe, South Africa note here. After two catastrophic editions a very positive sense, and thus different from and Cote d’Ivoire have been successful in in 2013 and 2015, when an Italian collector the repetitious, overloaded beauty of the 2 african arts SPRING 2018 VOL. 51, NO. 1 Downloaded from| http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00387 by guest on 28 September 2021 KASSEL A strong political conviction was also the basis of Documenta 14. Whereas in Venice, it was difficult to make an overall statement about the whole event because too many voic- es, positions, and even notions of art mani- fested themselves in very diverse exhibitions, Documenta in the German provincial town of Kassel has to prove itself in the context of a long history of very politically engaged editions. Here again, Okwui Enwezor’s Documenta 11 in 2002 has been one of the reference points in subsequent years. This year a number of African and African Dias- pora artists were present in diverse venues and their positions were among the stron- gest in the whole show. Furthermore, the Berlin-based Cameroonian curator Bonaven- ture Ndikung was invited to be curator at large in the team of Head Curator Adam Szymczyk. In total, and compared to Venice, this year’s Documenta was much rougher and somehow callow, but in the end it was a refreshing counter-position to the somehow smooth and shallow Venice experience. The loud and brazen positions in works such as WhoreMoans: An Uncivil Memoir of a Rough Ride (2017) by Tracey Rose, the complex and anti-decorative installation The Chess Society. J’ai l’impression qu’il y a une histoire d’amour entre la fille de salle et le grand noir qui fait le typical Venetian buildings where one finds 5 Ibrahim Mahama ménage (2017) by Bili Bidjocka, or the intense most of the pavilions that don’t find space in Check Point Sekondi Loco 1901–2030. 2016–2017 (2016–17) participatory performance work Carved to the Giardini or Arsenale area.