Join UsThe Goethe-Institut is dedicated to furthering critical discourse, as well as broadening and deepening artistic cooperation and global networks. It has brought significant international voices to Joburg Art Fair since 2008. This year, the Goethe-Institut is proud to present a preview of the Picha Encounters Lubumbashi Biennale 2012, with the curator Elvira Dyangani Ose of Tate Modern participating, as well as highlights from the Fringe – an experimental platform running concurrently with the art fair in Johannesburg. Furthermore, the publication über(W)unden: Art in Troubled times will be launched in partnership with Jacana Media.
Picha Encounters with curator Elvira Dyangani Ose.
The third edition of Picha Encounters, Lubumbashi Biennale, is scheduled for October 2012. Sammy Baloji and Patrick Mudekereza launched the biennale in 2008 to present an extensive selection of contemporary African photography and video art to the local audience, and to initiate exchanges between artists and associations in cultural field within the continent, as well as further afield. This year, Elvira Dyangani Ose takes over the reins from Simon Njami as guest artistic director. Ose is currently Curator International Art with a focus on Africa at Tate Modern in London.
Highlights from The Fringe
This experimental artist-run platform was initiated by Claudia Shneider in 2009 and provides space for individual artists and collectives to show their work independently in a format similar to the art fair. While artists apply for space through an open call, the final selection is decided by jury. Alex Dodd, Anthea Buys, Joseph Gaylard, Khwezi Gule and David Koloane will adjudicate this year. There will be an independently-curated satellite space for the Fringe this year at JAF – strengthening ties between the two platforms and encouraging visitors to commute between JAF’s Sandton space and the Fringe exhibition in Braamfontein.
über(W)unden: Art in Troubled Times
über(w)unden: Art in Troubled Times is a wide-ranging and illustration-rich investigation into how African and German artists from different disciplines have creatively engaged with social trauma. The book is an edited selection of material generated at a conference hosted by the Goethe-Institut, in 2011; crucially, the book expands on the original material to offer a standalone document, and includes contributions by, amongst others, William Kentridge, Zanele Muholi, Kudzanai Chiurai, Sindiwe Magona, Antjie Krog, Faustin Linyekula, Emmanuel Jal, Djo Munga, Marcel Odenbach and Dierk Schmidt.
The book is jointly edited by Lien Heidenreich-Seleme and Sean O’Toole and designed by Gabrielle Guy.