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AMASHIWI

"Culture is the heritage of us all. some may be more interested than others in the treasures of the past, but no one can fail to take a pride in his country's participation in the story of mankind, as represented in carvings, sculpture, music, paintings and the other arts. And there is a personal commitment to this, for no man can really say he is alone: we are all joined through our identity, with the cultures which are part of the mainstream of life"
- Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian Independence Freedom Fighter

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" - Winston Churchill

"Try to be the rainbow in someone else's cloud" - Maya Angelou

"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinion drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition" - Steve Jobs








Tuesday 16 November 2010

Art Is The Theme It seems

It seems that all that I am seeing right now pertains to Art.  Maybe like Angola, I am looking to heal with creativity as I keep seeing horrible headlines about fighting between Marocco and Western Sahara, of violence after the polls in Guinea, a couple killed on their honeymoon in South Africa and something going on in Egypt! If it bleeds it leads is really being applied to Africa this week :(.

So I am going to focus on more happy things.  Catching up on blog reading exposed me to more Angolan art and also alerted me to a huge art exhibition in New York at the Museum of Arts and Design called The Global Africa Project that starts tomorrow. All facets of African creativity are showcased in both old and traditional forms and new hybrid ones.  The exhibition seeks to show the varied dimensions of work that Africans worldwide have produced and have organised The Global Africa project "around several thematic ideas.  These include: the phenomenon of intersecting cultures and cultural fusion; the branding and co-opting of cultural references; how art and design is promoted in the international market and the creative global scene; the use of local materials; and the impact of art-making on the economic and social condition of local communities.  In addition to providing a broad framework for the exhibition's organisation, these themes will encourage audiences to discern how global African artists grapple with the commodification of art production and the meaning and value of art in society - an increasingly significant issue for nations in a rapidly changing global context."
 
For a better and more knowledgeable analysis of the exhibition, as well as images of the exhibits, read Afri-Love's post and the Museum's blog. I am happy to see our creativity being showcased both in Africa and around the world :)

2 comments:

  1. How I wish I were in NY for that!

    I woke up with this morning with a sharp pain about the poverty still in Africa, of course it's a constant cause of sadness, but this morning it felt almost like when a lover has hurt you or sth.
    Coincidentally I picked up a catalog I've had lurking around all year from the last pictures festival in cameroun and I flicked through the art featured in it.

    I'm positively reinforced after reading this, that art/creativity has both questions and solutions to many problems.

    Blessings

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  2. Some people are not moved by words, they are moved by the visual. It is definitely important to explore all planes possible to allow people to question and to solve :)

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