eye.on.art

October opened in London with the art fairs as main highlights. An addition to Frieze, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (6-9 Oct) continues to grow from strength to strength, taking up more of Somerset House and broadening the scope of its projects. These ranged from the impressive installation of by Zak Ové, Black and Blue: The Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness – forty two-metre-high black graphite sculptures investing the whole fountain space, until 15 October); the holistic and sustainable approach of artist Barthélémy Toguo turned coffee barista for the occasion who presented a Mobile Cafeteria, giving the visitors an opportunity to taste the coffee produced as part of his art centre activities, Bandjoun Station (in Bandjoun, Western Cameroon) along with limited edition cups and packs of coffee illustrated with the artist’s work;  through to the historical retrospective of one of Malian photography father figures Malick Sidibé.

Additionally, the Black Artists and Modernism research group led by Professor Sonia Boyce, Dr. David Dibosa and Professor Paul Goodwin held a major conference (6-8 Oct) at Tate Britain and Chelsea College of Arts accompanied by Now! Now! In more than one place a display curated by Boyce at Cookhouse and Triangle Space, Chelsea College of Arts until 15 October.

At the University of Central Lancashire, Making Histories Visible is hosting the second in its MHV Lecture Series with guest lecturer Françoise Vergès, Chair of Global South(s) at the Collège d’études mondiales, Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme, Paris. An internationally acclaimed political scientist and feminist of Reunionese background, Vergès is the author of numerous books on postcolonial theory, creolisation, psychoanalysis, slavery and the economy of predation, Frantz Fanon and Aimé Césaire. She’s also collaborated on several artistic projects notably Isaac Julien, Yinka Shonibare MBE, and Okwui Enwezor’s Triennale, Paris in 2012.

Guest Lecture by Françoise Vergès
Foster Building, Lecture Theatre II
University of Central Lancashire, Preston
Thursday 13 October from 6.30 to 8pm
Free event, find out more and book your ticket here.

In France the Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, led by French curator Christian Bernard is on until 23 October. The festival includes many exciting highlights (see website for more details). We are participating with Resonances: Second Movement, a second chapter to  All Of Us Have Sense Of Rhythm presented at David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF), London in 2015. Displayed across Croix-Baragnon’s two spaces, the Gallery and Espace III, the exhibition features music scores, videos, sculptures, paintings, poetry, photography and sound art by artists John Cage, Ayoka Chenzira, Satch Hoyt, Langston Hughes, Madeleine Mbida, William Titley and conclude with the video Odile and Odette (2005) by Yinka Shonibare MBE, a presentation made possible by the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.

In Brussels, Sophia – Belgian Network for Gender Studied is hosting a lecture by Christine Eyene. We will not give you the satisfaction… is a postscript on the project WHERE WE’RE AT! Other Voices on Gender curated by Eyene at BOZAR, in 2014. Conceived as an illustrated lecture/essay-in-progress it is a part of a preliminary research in preparation for a 2017-18 UK touring exhibition on women artists and sound art.

We will not give you the satisfaction: black perspective on gendered artistic discourses
Lecture by Christine Eyene.
Wednesday 26 October, 7.00 pm.
Followed by a discussion on the postcolonial context in Belgium with Gia Abrassart and Heleen De Beuckealere, 8.00pm. La Bellone, Brussels.
Reception at Le Space, Brussels, 9.00pm with slam performances selected by Warrior Poets.
Free event, booking recommended.
More information here.

Finally in Yaounde, a new photography project was launched to support emerging Cameroonian photographers. YaPhoto – Yaounde Photo Network, a project developed by Landry Mbassi and Christine Eyene, includes a website designed to share information on photography events and opportunities and highlight the work of young photographers. A pilot edition, YaPhoto#0 will take place at the end of November 2016 leading to more substantial events in 2017.

The call for African photographers is still on for an evening of projections themed “Clubbin’ Africa”, exploring club culture, urban culture, nightlife, identity, self-representation and performativity in Africa. Deadline: 21 October (see here for more information). We are also keen to hear from Cameroonian and African photographers practicing across diverse genres.

Included as part of YaPhoto pilot project, a critical writing workshop in French led by Christine Eyene will be organised in partnership with the Goethe Institute.
A champion of emerging creativity, the Goethe Institute Yaounde will also be host to Bakwa Magazine’s upcoming Creative Writing Workshop in English and French, facilitated by Jean-Claude Awono, Babila Mutia and Dzekashu McViban. Deadline for applications:  22 October. See more information here.

Watch this space for more art news!