Unseen Art Scene (mirror)

Magdalene Odundo Source: Victorian Fortune City http://victorian.fortunecity.com/palette/722/page2.html Magdelene Odundo Magdalene Odundo was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1950. As a child she lived in Kenya and India. From 1968 to 71 she attended the Nairobi Polytechnic in Kenya, while there she studied Graphic Art. In 1971 she left Kenya to attend Cambridge College of Art in Cambridge, England to continue her study in Graphic Design. Odundo grew restless with this medium and experimented with various mediums. In 1973 she moved to Farnham, England to attend West Surrey College of Art and Design. At West Surrey she settled on ceramics as her medium. In that first year at West Surrey she had the opportunity to visit the Cornwall Workshop of renowned potter Bernard Leach. Leach was the father of the modern British studio ceramics movement in the 1920's. Marla Berns describes this movement, "as a tradition based on principles of simplicity and purity of form derived from Asian cer

Body as Art | IngridMwangiRobertHutter Source: International Museum of Women http://www.imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory?storyId=1107 "Static Drift," two-piece digital photography. Image | IngridMwangiRobertHutter *N.B. See source to watch video work. Ingrid Mwangi Speaks from the Body Many contemporary women artists use their body to make a political statement. Artist Ingrid Mwangi is one of them, creating work that is innovative, visually striking and often shocking. She spent the first 15 years of her life in Kenya and has been living in Germany ever since. Through photography, performance, sound, installation and video, she's created a "body of work" that questions both social and political conventions. Mwangi writes: My body is the only thing that I own... I react, interpret and question the clichés and stereotypes with which I am faced... I use art to awaken consciences. Body Photographs Mwangi's 2001 photo series, "Static Drift" is, literally,

Source: Michael Stevenson Gallery http://www.michaelstevenson.com/contemporary/exhibitions/distant_relatives/index.htm Wangechi Mutu Born 1972, Nairobi, Kenya Lives and works in New York, USA Born in Kenya, Wangechi Mutu attended boarding school in Wales for two years before moving to the United States. She holds a BFA from the Cooper Union in New York, and an MFA from Yale. In 2003 she was an artist in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Mutu’s work is included in the currently touring Africa Remix. In 2005 she held solo exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Miami Art Museum and at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. Group exhibitions include drawing shows at MoMA, New York, and Tate Modern, London; Greater New York 2005 at PS1, New York; Figuratively (2004) and Africaine (2002) at the Studio Museum; Looking Both Ways at the Museum for African Art, New York (2003); Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti at the New Museum,

Source: Michael Stevenson Gallery http://www.michaelstevenson.com/contemporary/exhibitions/distant_relatives/index.htm Owusu-Ankomah Born 1956, Sekondi, Ghana Lives and works in Lilienthal, Germany Born in Ghana shortly before the country gained its independence, Owusu-Ankomah enrolled at the Ghanatta College of Art in Accra in 1971. In his twenties he started travelling to Europe, and in 1986 he permanently relocated to Lilienthal, near Bremen, Germany. Group exhibitions include the currently touring Africa Remix; the 2006 Dakar biennale; Journeys and Destinations at the National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC (2003); and A Fiction of Authenticity at the Contemporary Art Museum, St Louis (2003). He designed one of the official art posters published in conjunction with the soccer World Cup in Germany in 2006. His work was seen in South Africa in 1995 on the United Nations exhibition A Right to Hope which travelled to the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Over the past decade Owusu-Ank

I have created a slide show incorporating the blend that makes up the Dogon People's unique aesthetic. It includes architecture, tribal art, nature, pottery and Saharan sand, all of which are closely interwoven into everyday life. The Dogon are a group of people living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. They number just under 800,000. The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions. Dogon art is primarily sculpture. Dogon art revolves around religious values, ideals, and freedoms. Dogon sculptures are not made to be seen publicly, and are commonly hidden from the public eye within the houses of families, sanctuaries, or kept with the Hogon. The importance o

Abdellah Karroum is an independent curator and art researcher, born in Morocco in 1970. Source: http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2005/l_appartement_22 (Published: November 2005, print version) L'appartement 22 Interview with Abdellah Karroum By Haupt & Binder L'appartement 22 (Apartment 22) is an experimental space for encounters, exhibitions, and artists’ residencies in Rabat, Morocco, founded in 2002 by Abdellah Karroum. Its co-operative, project-specific work methods are based on the participation of artists as well as its private and institutional partners. The curatorial work of this undertaking supports artists in the international network of contemporary art. Abdellah Karroum, the founder of L'appartement, was born in 1970 in Morocco and works as an independent curator and art expert. Pat Binder and Gerhard Haupt of Universes in Universe conducted the following E-mail interview with him: Universes in Universe: In which cultural context and in

I have recently been struggling with the issue of Zimbabwe but I want to take a break and introduce you to some interesting music from Tunisia. When I was staying with Najet Belkhodja in Tunis recently I met up with Mounir Troudi. Here is some wonderful footage of Tunisia and life lived in North Africa. Mounir Troudi the amazing Sufi singer from Tunisia teams up with Antonio Maiello the Neopolian Folk singer with the Mediterranean Orchestra. This is a video for those that just love music. *N.B. If these links don't work please cut and paste and watch on the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TraA0GngK4g Here is a slightly different version with images of the Mediterranean Orchestra *N.B. If these links don't work please cut and paste and watch on the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUv90iZZFZY Hope you enjoy them as much as I do......

Onwu Di | Death Of A Husband It is one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall a woman at any point in her life - to loose her husband. No matter the length of time she spent with him in matrimony, the grief and sorrow she experiences cannot be quantified. It is an eternal loss; and so, no matter how much we try to console or encourage the truth is, she has lost her soul-mate. All we can do is give her time. For it is only time, as they say, that heals all. It is vital that she finds the right support - morally and otherwise from relatives, friends and loved ones so that she can see her way through this mournful period. Unfortunately, more often than not the reverse is usually the case. In different parts of the world, irrespective of religion, tradition and culture, widows are victims of violence and oppression at the hands of close family members and so-called friends, especially their in-laws. The story below clearly illustrates my thoughts on this matter. The characters and loc

Chinwe Azubuike from Nigeria. Here is a contemporary African Poet. She is regarded as a strong female contemporary voice from Africa, born in Lagos-Nigeria. Her origins are from Imo State and she is the first born of a family of five children. Her late father, Wisdom Azubuike served in the Biafran War and married his wife Mary in the mid 1970's. Her humble beginnings were a far cry from the literary educated class of poets- born into a relatively poor family. Over the past decade she has gradually crafted her own powerful voice and found a unique style of no-nonsense writing that comes directly from the heart. Her literary development began whilst attending secondary school. She constantly viewed herself as a spokeswoman for Nigeria's deprived underclass and recognised within herself a strong sense of social justice. This is reflected in her poetry, as her work highlights the complicated issues and beauty of the people of Africa, especially the plight of women and children. Th

Suzanne Ouedraogo | Artist from Burkina Faso. Here is one of my favourite artists, Suzanne Ouedraogo. Her work is quite graphically expressing the plight of young girls in West Africa. Her message is clear and shocking and warrants our attention. Her series on Female Circumcision Commissioned in 2003 Excision I 2003 Excision II - 2003 In 2003, I commissioned two West African female artists, Suzanne Ouedraogo and Chinwe Azubuike to create a series of works on the subject of female circumcision. Here is a poem written by the female Nigerian poet, Chinwe Azubuike, which compliments these extraordinary paintings by Suzanne Ouedraogo. Our Dilemma by Chinwe Azubuike You, our gods of immortals and living Of seas and lands Of all visible and not We beseech, hear our cry this day And come to our rescue. Our sacred weapons of pleasure Are being destroyed by the day Rendered useless By our overseeing Lords and Ladies Of ancestral descent. They perform a barbaric operation on our ‘flesh of honour

Behind the facade David Adjaye is an architect who makes buildings as if they were conceptual artworks. His client list reads like a Who's Who and he admits he's a bit of an operator. Now, as he enters the major league, can the 36-year-old live up to the hype? Tom Dyckhoff Saturday February 8, 2003 The Guardian Source: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,889980,00.html 'You've gotta be a showman." David Adjaye fixes me with his giant grin. "You can't just do your work. You've got to put it out there. Nobody's going to give you ten million pounds if you can't demonstrate your ability." If anyone could part a person from £10m it's Adjaye. It's the marriage of velvet and steel in his eyes, the way he undercuts his handsome confidence with a generous smile and teenager giggles. I've seen him work a room, brisk, efficient, but not cold, laughing at your jokes, flamboyantly, boyishly foppish, flashing that smile here, a to

Changing Africa We are all observing it : Africa today has begun its own renaissance. The Atepa Group has for more than 30 years striven to participate all over the continent at the rebuilding of what was once known as one of the leading civilizations of the world. Think of Timbuktu, the Pyramids of Egypt! Changing Africa, by participating in the making of its future, by identifying here and there partners in business, partners in progress, to use the potentials of this rich continent and work hand in hand to make them blossom. That is the reason why we have decided to go global. Global in the choice of our partners, global in the activities we have identified as being useful for the welfare of Africans and their partners, be it financial engineering, architecture, real estate, mining, transport, agriculture, energy. At Atepa, we want to create conditions for win-win ventures with our partners. So come and join us in this tremendous task of building Africa together. Well ! we have bein

August 7, 2007 Timbuktu Hopes Ancient Texts Spark a Revival By LYDIA POLGREEN Correction Appended *N.B. See and listen to Lydia Polgreen talking about Timbuktu. http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/world/20070807_MALI_FEATURE/index.html TIMBUKTU, Mali — Ismaël Diadié Haïdara held a treasure in his slender fingers that has somehow endured through 11 generations — a square of battered leather enclosing a history of the two branches of his family, one side reaching back to the Visigoths in Spain and the other to the ancient origins of the Songhai emperors who ruled this city at its zenith. “This is our family’s story,” he said, carefully leafing through the unbound pages. “It was written in 1519.” The musty collection of fragile, crumbling pages, written in the florid Arabic script of the sixteenth century, is also this once forgotten outpost’s future. A surge of interest in ancient books, hidden for centuries in houses along Timbuktu’s dusty streets and in leather trunks in nomad camps,