This thought-provoking book, Where Is Africa, edited by Emanuel Admassu and Anita N. Bateman, delves into the complex question of Where Is Africa situated within the global landscape of art, culture, and identity. Originating from a 2017 research initiative, this volume is an extended dialogue with contemporary artists, curators, designers, and academics actively shaping the representation of the African continent, both within Africa and across its diaspora.
Unpacking Historical Misconceptions
Where Is Africa critically examines the historical mispositioning of African arts, dissecting the imperialist underpinnings of cultural institutions. It confronts the long-standing anthropological fascination that has often objectified African people, places, and cultural artifacts. By exploring artist collectives and the burgeoning contemporary art scene in Africa over the last decade, the book reveals how these historical frameworks continue to influence perceptions and representations of the continent.
Voices from the Continent and Diaspora
Through a series of insightful interviews, Where Is Africa navigates the multifaceted identities and spaces of African and African-diasporic communities. Contributors explore questions of positionality within specific disciplinary, cultural, and political contexts. The texts address vibrant Afro-diasporic aesthetic practices and the curatorial, museological, and artistic structures that challenge dominant and exclusionary epistemologies. Furthermore, commissioned essays and images provide focused methodologies that broaden and deepen the issues raised in the interviews, offering diverse perspectives on the central question of where is Africa in the contemporary world.
Beyond Geographic Boundaries
Where Is Africa transcends the limitations of geographical fixity and the rigid representational logics of nation-states. It proposes that Africa, as a concept and a place, cannot be confined by the vestiges of colonial violence or the pervasive gaze of neoliberalism. Instead, the book posits Africa as a space of infinite malleability, where the concept of place itself is liberated and untethered. This innovative approach encourages readers to reconsider where is Africa not as a static location, but as a dynamic and ever-evolving entity.
Contributors to this volume include: Mikael Awake, Salome Asega, Tau Tavengwa, Anthony Bogues, Jay Simple, Eric Gottesman, Rebecca Corey, Aida Mulkozi, Rakeb Sile, Mesai Haileleul, Mpho Matsipa, Niama Safia Sandy, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Rehema Chachage, Robel Temesgen, Valerie Amani, Meskerem Assegued, Elias Sime, Olalekan Jeyifous, Amanda Williams, Germane Barnes, and Mario Gooden.
Explore the complex and compelling perspectives within Where Is Africa and challenge your understanding of the continent’s place in global culture.
