Chimurenga Library's Expanded Pan-Africanism at The Showroom
In the July 2017 issue of Afterall Journal 43, an interview with Emily Pethick, Avery Gordon, and Kodwo Eshun reflects on 'The Chimurenga Library' exhibition held at The Showroom in London from 8 October to 21 December 2015. Spearheaded by Ntone Edjabe, Graeme Arendse, and Ben Verghese, this initiative converted an online archive of 32 scanned post-War periodicals into a tangible library by utilizing local collections. The Pan African Space Station (PASS) provided live broadcasts from the exhibition, showcasing a variety of artists. The library's purpose was to illuminate an exilic London inhabited by jazz figures such as Louis Moholo and Dudu Pukwana while recalling FESTAC '77. The discussion contrasts this with 'No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990,' focusing on generational differences and highlighting Chimurenga's 'navigational aesthetic.'
Key facts
- Interview published in Afterall Journal 43, July 2017.
- Exhibition 'The Chimurenga Library' at The Showroom, London, 8 Oct–21 Dec 2015.
- Chimurenga is a project-based mutable object based in Cape Town.
- Online library features 32 scanned covers of post-War independent periodicals from 15 countries.
- Objects were borrowed, not bought, from existing collections.
- PASS broadcast live for five days with musicians, writers, curators.
- Exhibition contrasted with 'No Colour Bar' at Guildhall Art Gallery.
- Chimurenga's approach described as 'navigational aesthetic'.
Entities
Artists
- Emily Pethick
- Avery Gordon
- Kodwo Eshun
- Ntone Edjabe
- Graeme Arendse
- Ben Verghese
- Anjalika Sagar
- Akin Adesokan
- Lesego Rampolokeng
- Rustum Kozain
- George Shire
- Robin D.G. Kelley
- Fela Kuti
- Louis Chude-Sokei
- King Tubby
- Kiluanji Kia Henda
- Abu Bakarr Mansaray
- James Sey
- Doreen Baingana
- Jean-Pierre Bekolo
- Louis Moholo
- Johnny Dyani
- Mongezi Feza
- Dudu Pukwana
- Chris McGregor
- Harry Miller
- George Hallett
- Meja Mwangi
- Williams Sassine
- Michael McMillan
- Kwame Nkrumah
- George Padmore
- Kwame Anthony Appiah
- Achille Mbembe
- Stacy Hardy
- Dominique Malaquais
- Léopold Sédar Senghor
- Houari Boumedienne
- Mobutu Sese Seko
- Muhammad Ali
- George Foreman
- Olusegun Obasanjo
- Christine Eyene
- Dambudzo Marechera
- Eric Huntley
- Jessica Huntley
- John La Rose
- Fowokan
- Chila Kumari Burman
- Daniel arap Moi
- Paul Biya
Institutions
- Afterall
- Chimurenga
- The Showroom
- The Otolith Collective
- Pan African Space Station (PASS)
- Guildhall Art Gallery
- Heinemann
- African Writers Series
- Organisation of African Unity
- African Union
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Walter Rodney Bookshop
- Caribbean Arts Movement
- Black Arts Movement
- International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World Books
- Kongo Futurists
- sorryyoufeeluncomfortable collective
Locations
- Cape Town
- South Africa
- London
- United Kingdom
- Zimbabwe
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Canada
- United States
- Burkina Faso
- Egypt
- Kenya
- Morocco
- France
- India
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
- Jamaica
- Senegal
- Edgware Road
- Luanda
- Angola
- Manchester
- Accra
- Addis Ababa
- Ethiopia
- Zaire
- Cameroon
- Dakar
- Algiers
- Algeria
- Kinshasa
- Lagos
- Kaduna
Sources
- Afterall —