(W)Here Now Exhibition
HeritageConcept24.​
Galerie Durchgang. 2024
Basel, Switzerland
The '[W]Here Now' group exhibition by Afrinova features interdisciplinary works by 12 contemporary African artists who explore the theme of memory and water as a significant carrier of our stories, histories and collective futures.
“Memory is power. We can't just activate the history of humanity, but we can rekindle memory or at least a part of it. Like water, memory always finds a way back to the source.”
This willingness to find the 'source' is the journey to rekindle memory, and with Heritage Concept24, we're embarking on this journey with both like-minded people and first-time journeyers.
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The traces of our lives are made up of memories that connect us to the source.
Video: SmallHype.com
“[W]Here Now” reflects on the role of water as a conduit to the essence of our lives. This water constantly flows to map the pathways of our identities and remind us that we all come from somewhere.
Water is a vessel and connection to the source of all life that carries our stories, histories, and power. But where do we go to remember? And how do we know the importance of things we are remembering? Our exhibition space becomes this site of memory where we conjure up what is already in us to better understand our place in the world.
Like Toni Morrison puts it, all water has perfect memory, and etched within us all are rivers, lakes, and seas that are trying to get back where they were – The source.
Just like water our artists are mapping out and activating different memories through creating. Neither time nor centuries of oppression have been, and can erase Africans’ true heritage. We’ll always find a way.
Exhibiting Artists: Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, Grant Jurius, Eva de Souza, Katlego Tlabela, Kofi Buckman, Kwaku Dapaah Opoku, Laura Arminda Kingsley, Maurice Mboa, Ms. Rafiki and Tuli Mekondjo. With contributions from Nubuke Foundation, Ghana and Basler Afrika Bibliographien Basel.
Curated by Keabetswe Boccomino & Kwaku Opoku, '[W]Here Now' forms part of the HeritageConcept24 (www.heritageconcept.co) program during ArtBasel week.
