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Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice

Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice

Fall 2022

Artistic Activism and the Power of Collective Resistance Fall 2022 Program, curated by Selene Wendt

Building on our work in 2020 and 2021, the EADJ Program will present a set of vibrant discussions that examine the consequences of social and historical inequities on the southern imaginary, as seen in art from Africa, Latin America, South Europe, South Asia, and the American South. The Spring Program continues to explore the potential for radical collaboration and togetherness across these disparate geographies.

Read the full press release here.

Fall 2022:

Episode 4: The Future of Unity: Artists Leading the Way

Episode 4: Wednesday, September 7, 10:00 AM CST

This panel focuses on four artist-led platforms in the Global South where local actions, initiatives and opportunities are prioritized. Each of these spaces reflects a clear artistic vision conveyed through dynamic interdisciplinary programming that also provides an opportunity for artists to engage in residencies, exhibitions, talks and other initiatives. Located in Trinidad (Alice Yard), Kenya (The Nest Collective), and Jamaica (NLS Kingston), these are thriving local spaces that are setting the standard for what is possible in terms of artist-led initiatives.

Speakers: 

  1. Christopher Cozier, Alice Yard, Port of Spain, Trinidad
  2. Jim Chuchu, The Nest Collective, Nairobi, Kenya
  3. Deborah Anzinger, NLS, Kingston, Jamaica
  4. Selene Wendt, (Moderator)  2022/23 EADJ Curator, Founder, The Global Art Project

Sound Commission: Neo Muyanga, Composer and Installation Artist, Cape Town, South Africa

Episode 5: Global Black Consciousness through Time and Across Geographies

Episode 5: Wednesday, September 21, 10:00 AM CST

This panel, to be moderated by Salah M. Hassan, brings together contemporary African and African diasporic artists whose research and artworks are in keeping with the idea of global Black consciousness as a unifying concept of solidarity. As addressed in the award-winning special issue of NKA Journal of Contemporary African Art: Global Black Consciousness and throughout Salah M. Hassan’s extensive research and scholarship on the topic, this panel focuses on global Black consciousness, understood as “both a citing of diasporic flows and a grounded site of decolonizing movement”.

Speakers:

  1. Manthia Diawara, Towards the New Baroque of Voices, 2021
  2. Joy Gregory, The Sweetest Thing, 2021
  3. Adama Delphine Fuwundu, Deep Inside I’m Blue
  4. Moderator: Salah M. Hassan, Director of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE

Episode 6: Healing and Transcendence through Radical Decolonial Gestures

Episode 6: Wednesday, October 5, 10:00 AM CST

This panel brings together four contemporary artists whose research and artistic practice puts them at the forefront of decolonial thinking. These artists effectively challenge the legacy of colonialism and the continued prevalence of colonial power structures. More specifically, their work helps to rewrite and reframe the past, thereby enabling us to rethink how we can fight against the social injustices of our time and imagine a more just future for all.

Speakers:

  1. Sasha Huber, Shooting Back: The Firsts
  2. Nyugen Smith, Bundlehouse Series
  3. Cosmo Whyte, The Fire Next Time
  4. Grada Kilomba, Plantation Memories
  5. Selene Wendt, (Moderator)  2022/23 EADJ Curator, Founder, The Global Art Project

Episode 7: Poetic Justice

Episode 7: Wednesday, October 19, 10:00 AM CST

This panel highlights the work of several poets whose poems, spoken-word performances, collaborative initiatives, and community-based workshops convey the power of poetry to raise societal awareness and to foster community engagement. The inherent musicality of poetry as well as its potential sociopolitical function is reflected in poetic practices that also resonate on a societal level, as witnessed through artistic collaborations that speak the language of solidarity and empowerment.

Speakers:

  1. Ishion Hutchinson, Poetry reading
  2. Aja Monet, Voices: Poetry for the People
  3. Caroline Randall Williams, Poetry reading
  4. Major Jackson, Poetry reading
  5. Selene Wendt, (Moderator)  2022/23 EADJ Curator, Founder, The Global Art Project