The Power of My HandsAfrica(s) : Women Artists
From to
As part of the Africa2020 Season, Angola-based freelance curator Suzana Sousa and Odile Burluraux, curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, have chosen for exhibition at MAM a group of works by sixteen women artists from various English - and Portuguese - speaking African countries or the diaspora. The result is an insight into an African contemporary art scene rarely presented in France.
The Power of My Hands tells us how artists can use their personal histories to address the social issues that govern the condition of women today. Examining a range of themes – the body, sexuality, self-representation, motherhood, beliefs – the exhibition asks how, for Black women, attitudes to privacy reveal what goes unsaid and their relationship with the world. It does this via an intermingling of the notions of memory, family, spirituality and imagination.
The works on display – including paintings, pottery, photographs, videos, performances and needlework – celebrate the liberating energy of the «power of their hands».
Even if some of these artists make no claim to feminist or radical political stances, the exhibits enable the sharing of individual experiences whose collective, universal assertion chimes resonantly with the famous 1970s slogan «the personal is political».
With works by: Stacey Gillian Abe, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Gabrielle Goliath, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Keyezua, Lebohang Kganye, Kapwani Kiwanga, Senzeni Marasela, Grace Ndiritu, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Reinata Sadimba, Lerato Shadi, Ana Silva, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Billie Zangewa, Portia Zvavahera.
Artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji has been invited to present three works from the programme at Threehouse, her alternative art space based in Lagos, Nigeria.
This exhibition adds to the Musée d’Art Moderne’s long tradition of regularly presenting women artists. It is part of Africa2020’s Focus Femmes and is backed by the Agence Française de Développement and JCDecaux.
Round tables, a series of performances and a programme of videos are further features of the exhibition.
Curators : Odile Burluraux et Suzana Sousa
#ThePowerOfMyHands
Event organized as part of the Saison Africa2020, with the support of the Institut français and JCDecaux, and thanks to the partnership between the Institut français and the Agence française de Développement - www.saisonafrica2020.com
Gabrielle Goliath, Roulette, 2012
Customized doormat, sound installation
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
© Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery
Gabrielle Goliath
Roulette, 2012
Customized doormat, sound installation, 3 hours
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
© Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery
Keyezua, The Power of My Hands, 2015
200 x 360 cm
MOVART Gallery, Luanda, Angola
© Keyezua, courtesy MOVART Gallery / Photo Keyezua
Keyezua
The Power of My Hands, 2015
200 x 360 cm
Synthetic hair braids
MOVART Gallery, Luanda, Angola
© Keyezua, courtesy
MOVART Gallery / Photo Keyezua
Lebohang Kganye, Setupung sa kwana hae II, 2013
Inkjet printing on cotton rag paper
© Lebohang Kganye, courtesy AFRONOVA Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Lebohang Kganye
Setupung sa kwana hae II, 2013
Inkjet printing on cotton rag paper
42 x 29.7 cm
© Lebohang Kganye, courtesy AFRONOVA Gallery,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Senzeni Marasela, Waiting for Gebane, 2013-2019
Installation, 5 cotton dresses
AFRONOVA Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
© Senzeni Marasela and AFRONOVA GALLERY / Photo Nico Krijno, courtesy The Johannesburg Pavillion
Senzeni Marasela
Waiting for Gebane, 2013-2019
Installation, 5 cotton dresses
Various dimensions
AFRONOVA Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
© Senzeni Marasela and AFRONOVA GALLERY /
Photo Nico Krijno, courtesy The Johannesburg Pavillion
Grace Ndiritu, Holy Mountain, 2015
Silk-screened fabric (Egyptian Dress)
Artist’s collection, Brusselles, Belgium
© Grace Ndiritu / Holy Mountain, Glasgow School of Art (2015) / Photo Alan Dimmick
Grace Ndiritu
Holy Mountain, 2015
Silk-screened fabric (Egyptian Dress)
150 x 170 cm
Artist’s collection, Brusselles, Belgium
© Grace Ndiritu / Holy Mountain, Glasgow School of Art (2015) /
Photo Alan Dimmick
Ana Silva, O Fardo, 2020
Plastic bags, embroidery, drawings, nylon
AFRICANA, Art Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
© Ana Silva / Photo Louise Stefanii
Ana Silva
O Fardo, 2020
Plastic bags, embroidery, drawings, nylon
Various dimensions
AFRICANA, Art Foundation,
Geneva, Switzerland
© Ana Silva / Photo Louise Stefanii
Portia Zvavahera, Kubuda mudumbu Rinerima (Rebirth from the Dark Womb), 2019
Oil on canva
Privation collection, Zurich, Switzerland
© Portia Zvavahera, courtesy Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg / Photo Mario Todeschini
Portia Zvavahera
Kubuda Mudumbu Rinerima (Rebirth from the Dark Womb), 2019
Oil on canva
189 x 128 cm
Privation collection, Zurich, Switzerland
© Portia Zvavahera, courtesy Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg / Photo Mario Todeschini