On this occasion of our first year anniversary we welcome back our respected colleague, curator, critic and academic Professor Yacouba Konate, who was part of the first lectures series of IVAC in 2000/2001. Engr Yemisi Shyllon joins us on this august occasion as our Special Guest of Honour.
There is a proverb that is found everywhere you go in Africa that states: “The foreigner has big eyes, but he does see nothing”.
Most of the time, the curator of large, international shows acts as the perfect foreigner. He will act as a tourist would: he will rush to the main galleries, to the studios of the most famous artists without taking a look at the essential part of the city: the small differences that make the ambiance, the social and political preoccupations and the people, unique. He will only reach the central part of the city body. Which raises the question of how to promote a curatorial practice that could renew the list of artists and open up new possibilities.
