Art/Afrique, Le nouvel atelier

From 26 April to 4 September 2017, the Fondation Louis Vuitton presents Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier exhibition.

 The Fondation is devoting the entirety of its display areas, as well as a full multidisciplinary programme, to Africa. Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier is the union of two exhibitions – The Insiders (“Les Initiés”): a selection of works (1989-2009) from the Jean Pigozzi collection of contemporary African art and Being There (“Être là”): South Africa, a contemporary scene – to which are added a selection of works from the Collection.

In 1989, inspired by the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Grande Halle de La Villette, businessman Jean Pigozzi called upon André Magnin, Assistant Curator for the exhibition’s African section, to assemble a collection dedicated to artists living and working in sub-Saharan Africa. Mr Magnin, a skilled art investigator, crisscrossed the African continent to meet self-taught artists who, at that time, could not be found or reached using mobile phones, the internet or social networks. In this context, the decisive parameters were human relations and a firm grasp of the conspicuous freedom and originality of the artists’ approaches.

The collective exhibition Being There is devoted to South Africa, one of the most dynamic scenes on the African continent. Its potency, first revealed to the world in the 1990s, is especially due to the emergence of a new ecosystem, constituted in part by very involved and committed institutions, galleries and universities.

The exhibition focuses on a specific time and space – the present day – as established through multiple themes and well-rooted historical continuity. Several generations of artists are brought together here, with shared and reflected objectives. Some works are by the scene’s earliest artists, today recognised figures on the international artistic stage, as well as a generation born in the 1970s. Other works, by artists born in the 1980s, are symptomatic of new issues and realities, more than twenty years after the end of apartheid.

This selection is founded on the position of the artists as proactive co-creators of the economic and social fabric in which they live, aware and confident of their ability to play a role and have lasting impact – Being There.

Covering the Fondation’s entire top floor, complementing the two temporary exhibitions, is a selection of African works from the Collection which, through various media, explore the history and identity of the African continent and cultures, which today are essential to understanding the world’s artistic landscape.

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Seni Awa Camara, Calixte Dakpogan, John Goba, Romuald Hazoumé, Seydou Keita, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Moké, Rigobert Nimi, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Chéri Samba, Malick Sidibé, Pascale Marthine Tayou et Barthelemy Toguo, David Goldblatt, William Kentridge, Jane Alexander, David Koloane, Sue Williamson, Zanele Muholi, Moshekwa Langa, Jody Brand, Lawrence Lemaoana, Nicholas Hlobo, Athi-Patra Ruga, Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Kudzanai Chiurai, Bogosi Sekhukhuni, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Rashid Johnson, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Omar Victor Diop,Meleko Mokgosi, Santu Mofokeng, Wangechi Mutu, Robin Rhode and Omar Ba.

The exhibition, designed by the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director, was created in close collaboration with Jean Pigozzi.

Chief Curator: Suzanne PagéAdvisor: André MagninCurators: Angéline Scherf and Ludovic DelalandeArchitect: Marco Palmieri

Being There: South Africa, a contemporary scene

Curators: Suzanne Pagé and Angeline Scherf with Ludovic Delalande and Claire Staebler.Architect: Marco Palmieri     

Go behind the scenes of Art / Africa, The new workshop: installation of exhibitions in galleries, interviews with artists and multidisciplinary activities around these masterpieces of contemporary African art.