Tate Modern symposium explores Laboratoire Agit-Art's radical legacy and African avant-garde

A symposium at Tate Modern this Friday will examine the radical history of the Senegalese collective Laboratoire Agit-Art to address broader questions about the African avant-garde. Operating in Dakar during the mid-1970s, the collective emerged in a highly politicized, bohemian environment. Their project embraced hybridity, influenced by European Modernism yet reacting against prevailing Senegalese artistic styles. Members rejected institutionalized notions that art must be beautiful, which ironically relied on imported fine art materials. Instead, they utilized junk and found objects in sculptures, performances, and collaborative actions. Speakers include academic Elizabeth Harney, who will discuss Senegalese modernism and Negritude as both a philosophical term and national cultural policy. Composer and musician Neo Muyanga will present his work and collaborations on digital musical platforms Pan-African Space Station and Chimurenga. The event draws on the collective's legacy to contemplate wider cultural and artistic movements in Africa.