Tate-GTBank’s across the board for launch

The art project, the brainchild of GTBank and Tate Modern, London will launch Across the board: Politics of Representation, Tate Modern in London, on November 24, 2012. It will feature a day of performances by Nigeria’s Otobong Nkanga and Angola’s Nastio Mosquito. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) October 13, 2012 - Deputy Director of Tate Modern Mr. Alex Beard, who was in the country with the marketing Director, Mr. Marc Sands, said in Lagos last weekend that the project would be taken to Accra, Douala and Lagos. It will run till 2014. He said next month, the event, which will include discussion session, is expected to attract contributors who would examine issues of cultural identity. He noted that in Douala, Cameroon, the event would hold next year and focus on public space/public sphere in the spring, next year, the Accra leg of the event is expected to address issues such as institution building.

Beard said interdisciplinary practice would be the theme of discussion at the Lagos event holding in 2014. He stressed that each city would determine the format of presentation but that formats such as dialogue, debate and social media would be considered.

Across the board is an extended collaboration and experimental platform featuring African artists and exploring recent practices in the continent. It constitutes a pioneering and challenging approach to cultural partnership whilst complimenting Tate’s collecting activities.

General Manager and Head, Communication and External Affairs of GTBank, Lola Odedina said the three main purposes of the projects are the creation of a platform to engage with local art scenes and its protagonists, curators, artists, scholars and institutions; enhancement of Tate’s collecting activities and to generate new dynamic and experimental types of programming at Tate.
On the need to support art schools, Odedina said the bank would need the assistance and guidance of the artists’ body in determining the collective needs of the artists.

Last year, GTBank announced a partnership between it and Tate, which includes the creation of a dedicated curatorial post at Tate Modern to focus on African art, an Acquisition Fund to enable the gallery enhance its holdings of work by African artists and an annual project. Consequently, a curator, Elvira Dyangani Ose was appointed early last November curating GTBank project for Tate as well as contributing towards building the collection and the Tate programmes.

Also, Contested terrains, the first exhibition project from the partnership was held between July and November last year at Tate featuring four artists working in Africa exploring and subverting narratives about the past and present. Nigeria’s Adolphus Okpara, Kader Attia, Sammy Bolaji and Micheal MacGary were the exhibiting artistes.

###

space

Other Related Press Releases