Among many other youths in Zimbabwe, Pardon Mapondera has followed this trajectory of working beyond the waithood, whether caused by the unavailability of resources or a global pandemic. On the path towards his own visual style, art wakes up Pardon Mapondera’s personal god of small things, with which he can make his “silent noise” heard.
This brings me to the work of Pamela Enyonu “Nambi”, this project is an artist book in which Enyonu gives a sequel/epilogue to the tale of Kintu and Nambi, in the art book she weaves poetry and images to give the persona of Nambi a voice that engages with modern discourse, Nambi is reawakened to speak to those who thought of her as a thing of legend, in this book Nambi is engaging her audience in new lexicons and grammars (English) but she still speaks the language that her children knew her by.
Okwui Enwezor saw “Grief and Grievance” as one of his most personal projects, and one of his most political. Within “Grief and Grievance,” mourning can be seen as a distinct form of politics, one that refuses a singular melancholy in favor of multifaceted forms of critique, resistance, and care.
For Artur photography is about cultivating trust between the artist and the subject. Her focus is on representing people the way they want to be represented. Documenting that in a picture is a form of conservation and she has kept her lens on the Black community, focusing on the everyday moments that present themselves.
“Lagos is the quintessential entrepreneurial African city, with its international connections, a diverse culture and so much simultaneously happening. Art season 2019 was pivotal, a lot of international visitors realized that something exciting was going on. Further professionalization of the sector would mean artists connecting with arts administrators and managers, that would allow them to focus on creating art, with Nigeria becoming a globally acknowledged standard”.