EXHIBITION AT THE VÖLKLINGER HÜTTE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
WHEN
—
WHERE
UNESCO Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte
PROGRAMME
“Here rests in God my dear N**** I Chim Bebe I Died in 1912 at the age of 26”. This inscription on the grave of a man born in the West African colony of Togo, found in the old cemetery in Saarlouis, reveals Africa’s felt proximity – even here in Saarland.
The Roman Empire operated its granaries in North Africa, kingdoms have flourished across Africa for centuries, and the continent is the birthplace of humankind. Yet Africa been portrayed on world maps since the days of Mercator as smaller than its actual size, and it continues to be underestimated in both its geographic scope and significance for world history. THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA signifies all of this, along with the global reach of the African diaspora, wrought not least by the forced displacement of African people worldwide, with lasting impacts to this day.
The exhibition’s opening comes almost exactly 140 years after the Berlin Conference began in November 1884, dividing Africa among the colonial powers without any African participation. This is a timely reason to take a fresh look at this vast continent and the people who come from it. The exhibition THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA explores approaches that retrace and uncover traditions of thought, biases, and stereotypes, offering new perspectives through a combination of cultural history, contemporary art, constantly shifting viewpoints, and a diversity of artistic voices.
A MUSEUM OF MEMORABILITY examines Africa’s past and present through the lens of Europe’s colonial history, while African art objects from private collections held in Saarland launch a dialogue with the industrial machines and flywheels in the historic blower hall. This approach flips the script on the traditional narrative: It is now industrial modernity, and the shadows it has repeatedly cast over Europe, that comes to encounter Africa’s richly illuminating and multifaceted culture.
Significant artworks from recent decades are showcased alongside sound and spatial installations created specifically for the exhibition by artists from Africa and its global diaspora. The result is a dense network of ideas and inspirations allowing visitors to experience THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA in the profound diversity of its past, present, and future.
Participating artists include John Akomfrah (Accra, Ghana/London, England), James Gregory Atkinson (Frankfurt, Germany/Seattle, USA), Kader Attia (Algiers, Algeria/Berlin, Germany), Sammy Baloji (Lubumbashi, DR Congo/Brussels, Belgium), Arébénor Basséne (Dakar, Senegal), Memory Biwa (Windhoek, Namibia), CATPC (Lusanga, DR Congo), Omar Victor Diop (Dakar, Senegal/Paris, France), William Kentridge (Johannesburg, South Africa), Kongo Astronauts (Kinshasa, DR Congo), Roméo Mivekannin (Bouaké, Ivory Coast/Toulouse, France), Zanele Muholi (Cape Town/Umlazi, South Africa), Josèfa Ntjam (Metz, France), Kaloki Nyamai (Nairobi, Kenya), Emeka Ogboh (Lagos, Nigeria/Berlin, Germany), Thomas J. Price (London, England), Zineb Sedira (Algiers, Algeria/Paris, France/London, England), Sandra Seghir (Lomé, Togo/Dakar, Senegal), Yinka Shonibare (London, England), The Singh Twins (Richmond, England), and Géraldine Tobe (Kinshasa, DR Congo).
An illustrated catalogue, edited by Ralf Beil, Markus Messling, and Christiane Solte-Gresser, will be published for the exhibition. The volume features essays by Ralf Beil, Elara Bertho, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Till Förster, Franck Hofmann, Nadia Yala Kisukidi, Christiane Solte-Gresser, and Markus Messling, as well as texts by Teju Cole and Binyavanga Wainaina and profiles of all participating artists.
The exhibition is a collaboration between the Käte Hamburger Centre (CURE) and the Völklinger Hütte UNESCO World Heritage Site.
