The year 2007 is significant for Africa and African artists as “[t]his is the first time a major exhibition of contemporary African art will be held in Africa” (Clive Kellner, curator of the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Africa Remix Exhibition Catalogue 2007:9). Africa Remix, an exhibition of 85 contemporary African artists from all regions of the continent and displaying a variety of skills and styles, provides and overview of contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora in a single exhibition. Previous exhibitions of contemporary African art, namely Africa Explores (exhibited at New York’s Museum for African Art, 1991) and Seven Stories about African Art (exhibited at London’s Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1995) were never exhibited on the continent. After having toured Düsseldorf, London, Paris, Tokyo and Stockholm, Johannesburg is the last stop for Africa Remix and the only stop in Africa. It is important that Johannesburg managed to host this exhibition, both to show that Africa has the capacity and fortitude to host exhibitions of this scale, and for bringing the art of Africa to Africa. It has taken enormous efforts in fundraising to secure this opportunity. Yet, it also points to the lack of proper exhibition spaces both to host travelling exhibitions of this size and to provide a home for permanent collections of contemporary African art. Africa has long been subject to plundering of her riches: first through outright slavery, then through the exploitation of mineral reserves (often leading to concurrent exploitation of people), and in the contemporary world through the more subtle but potentially no less devastating “harvesting” (supported by the inherently unequal nature of global trade) of intellectual resources, such as items of cultural heritage, indigenous knowledge, and the production of scientists, writers, and artists. Africa needs to take the responsibility for making the most of what we have, here, before exporting it to the rest of the globe. Therefore, for art, there needs to be a gallery to support and exhibit the numerous collections of contemporary African art currently locked in storage. This will allow our art to be housed on the continent of its birth. Furthermore, a gallery such as this will contribute to cultural creation on the continent by the fact of its existence, providing space for and stimulating debate, performance and artistic production. This dissertation will therefore serve as an investigation into the interface between art and architecture. An alternative artspace to exhibit primarily but not exclusively contemporary African art is proposed for the city of Pretoria. The full text of this thesis/dissertation is not available online. Please <a href="mailto:upetd@up.ac.za?subject=UPeTD access required">contact us</a> if you need access. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Architecture / unrestricted

L’art contemporain africain a fait son entrée dans le système globalisé, d’abord par les manifestations artistiques, ensuite dans les maisons de vente. Depuis les années post-indépendances, une nouvelle vision de l’art contemporain africain a émergé avec l’avènement des discours postcoloniaux. Ces idées inédites ont entraîné une lecture différente de l’esthétique contemporaine africaine avec l’appui de certains commissaires d’exposition. Parallèlement, une vision de l’artiste « authentique » subsiste dans les manifestations et donne de l’artiste africain une image qui peut paraître quelques fois figée. Les artistes contemporains africains se retrouvent aujourd’hui dans une situation conflictuelle ; ils doivent soit se rapprocher des centres d’impulsion artistiques c’est-à-dire du marché de l’art occidental ou rester sur le continent africain et tenter par des initiatives diverses et variées d’intégrer un marché qui reste encore en occident. Les zones périphériques arrivent cependant peu à peu à se muter en centres d’impulsion mais restent pour le moment modestes.Avec l’avènement des nouvelles technologies, des opportunités s’offrent aux artistes des périphéries en termes d’usages mais aussi en tant que medium. Leur application pousse à la réflexion, et à une tentative de compréhension des enjeux qui se profilent pour l’art contemporain africain et des perspectives qu’il faudra entrevoir à travers le paradigme des postcoloniales studies et à travers l’avènement des technologies de l’information et des communication. Est-il possible de proposer de nouvelles approches pour promouvoir la diffusion de l’art contemporain africain à travers les dispositifs socio-techniques disponibles mais aussi à travers la gestion de l’information. ? Dans une première partie, cette thèse tente de montrer la diversité des arts de l’Afrique pour en comprendre la complexité aujourd’hui. Puis en analysant les liens qu’elle a eus avec l’occident, d’en comprendre l’histoire.Dans une seconde partie la place de l’identité de l’artiste africain mais aussi son positionnement puis les initiatives qui sont menées sur le continent permettront de mieux appréhender les enjeux et perspectives qui dans la troisième partie, permettront d’avoir un point de vue global sur ce qui régit aujourd’hui l’art contemporain africain. / The contemporary African art has made its entry into the globalized system, first through artistic exhibitions then in the auction houses. Since the 1960s’ a new vision of contemporary African art has emerged with the postcolonial discourse. These ideas have led to a different reading of the contemporary African aesthetic with the support of some curators. Meanwhile, a vision of the “authentic” artist remains in many European and American exhibitions. African artist give an image that can sometimes seem fossilized The contemporary African artists today find themselves in a situation, which can be source of conflicts. They can get close to the artistic centers pulse which means the Western art market or stay on the African continent and try by different initiatives to include a market which is still outlying areas like western countriesThe other areas however gradually mutate into centers pulse but remain modest for the time being. With the advent of new technologies, opportunities exist for artists from the third world in terms of use but also as media. Their application pushes the reflection, and then attempt to understand the challenges that lies ahead for contemporary African art and perspectives that will glimpse through the paradigm of postcolonial studies and through the advent of technologies of information and communication. Is it possible to suggest new approaches to promote the dissemination of contemporary African art through socio-technical devices available but also through information management? The first part, this thesis attempts to show the diversity of the arts of Africa to understand it’s complexity today. Then by analyzing the relationship it has with the West, to understand it’s history.The second part tries to understand the identity of the African artist but also its positioning and initiatives that are carried out on the continent will better understand the challenges and opportunities.The third part will give a point of view overall which today governs contemporary African art.

This essay is a study of Yinka Shonibare MBE, London-born and Nigerian-raised contemporary artist, and his recent photographic practice that includes three series: Fake Death Pictures, William Morris Family Album, and Medusa. Exploration of the series reveals insight into Shonibare’s unique relationship to photography, in which he employs the hyper-realism and theatricality of the medium to interact with individuals from British history and reveal contemporary social and political injustices.

This thesis explores how the art world negotiates what contemporary African art means, in the context of the international contemporary art system and in relation to the histories of Western perspectives on Africa. Using conceptual and methodological approaches drawn from cultural geography, it examines the field of contemporary African art, foregrounding the terms of negotiation framing contested geographical imaginations and ideas of Africa. The research considers curatorial practices, exhibitions, art institutions, networks and the wider art infrastructure as an arena in which geographical concepts and categories are formulated, debated and contested in relation to contemporary African art. It draws on interviews with artists, curators, gallerists, collectors and scholars, as well as ethnographic fieldwork conducted in institutions and at art events, to unpick the idea of 'contemporary African art' as a working category and conceptual frame. It reveals tensions running through the field hinging on questions of categorisation, scale and location, the geographical dimensions and implications of which are currently under-explored. The conclusions argue for the importance of geographical awareness in debates around contemporary art from Africa and its shifting position internationally, particularly in the context of globalising trends in the art world and beyond, which engender complex geographies of mobility, identity, belonging and opportunity. The thesis also highlights the relevance of debates around contemporary African art for geographers, proposing new directions in research on art within cultural geography.