Sub-Saharan Africa

Abbey IT-A
Presently finding liminal grounds between artistic practice and the curatorial, Abbey IT-A is increasingly interested in the proverbial discursiveness inherent in Contemporary Art and how it holds in praxis. They explore this concern through experimental, multi-vocal, curatorial interventions with text and conversation as likely points of departure in an independent practice. Additionally, as an associate at the Foundation for Contemporary Art-Ghana, they help promote contemporary Ghanaian art practices and discourses through research, workshops, seminars, exhibitions, interventions, and labs.

Educated in Ghana, they earned their BFA from the Department of Painting and Sculpture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where they are currently a candidate for an MFA. Abbey lives and works in Accra and Kumasi.

Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo
Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo (she/her) is a curator, artist and bookmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her artistic and curatorial approach is hinged on a commitment to generative collaborative processes, centering local context and deep research, all thoughtfully deployed to develop exhibitions, publications and programming that is accessible, sustainable, ambitious and liberatory. She is currently exploring zines, and artists’ books as formats to play across various disciplines engaging with decolonial, queer, feminist, and black radical traditions. More recently alongside down river road and friends she has been experimenting with sound art and installation formats.

Rosie has worked in research, editorial, communications, writing, and project management roles with literary, and visual arts and culture organizations in East Africa and the United States and has previously served as the Head of Programs at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute(NCAI).

Ese Emmanuel
Ese Emmanuel is a writer, cultural worker and curator, among other things. Alongside other curators at Monangambee – a nomadic Lagos-based microcinema – they organise screenings that engage Black continental and diasporic filmmakers, Third Cinema, and cinematic movements stemming from the Global South. Her work prioritises the radical imaginary, making space for collaboration, play, care, and rest. They currently live and work between Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria.

E.N. Mirembe
Mirembe is a curator, writer, and researcher. Their interdisciplinary curatorial practice attends to literary and visual cultures through a black studies lens. They explore ideas of blackness as a shared ground for intimacy, theory, play, and method. They work with the Njabala Foundation in Kampala to promote and facilitate visibility for women artists.

Mirembe is currently a research fellow with the Center for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape. They have held fellowships and residencies with the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the Arak Art Collection in Doha, the Center for Arts, Design + Social Research in Boston, 32° Degrees East | Ugandan Arts Trust in Kampala, and Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in Johannesburg.

Mirembe’s writing has been published in Artforum, Africa is a Country, African Arguments, Literary Hub, Johannesburg Review of Books, African Feminism, and others.

Jesse Gerard Mpango
Jesse Gerard Mpango is a storyteller from Kasulu, Tanzania. He is a founding member of Ajabu Ajabu, a multimedia curatorial collective based in Dar Es Salaam. Ajabu Ajabu employs participatory, open ended approaches in its programming and events as a way of exploring de-centralized and communal forms of presentation, production and preservation of audio visual work in Tanzania – and works towards engaging, documenting and re-enforcing subcultures responding to monolithic and exclusionary global media frameworks.

Recent projects include Manifested Belonging, a multidisciplinary examination of formal and aesthetic contributions of Dar Es Salaam’s screen communities and a component work, the award winning documentary short Apostles Of Cinema.

Kefiloe Siwisa
Kefiloe Siwisa is a cultural worker and curator based in Johannesburg. Her practice is grounded in curatorial consciousness, a wakeful, sustainable approach that prioritises emotional literacy, empathy, collective presencing, and (rest)oration.

Past positions include Senior Associate at Stevenson Gallery, Lead Curator of Turbine Art Fair (2019) and Assistant Curator of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fairs’ public programme platform Forum. Siwisa has collaborated with institutions and produced projects in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Morocco. Recent curatorial projects include Bird Sound Orientations, a solo exhibition by Rahima Gambo (Stevenson, Johannesburg), ICA Live Art Festival (Institute for Creative Arts, Cape Town), and Equations for a Body at Rest by Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi (Birmingham 2022 Festival x Commonwealth Games). Siwisa is currently the Project Coordinator for Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow (Institut français d’Afrique du Sud).

Siwisa is the co-founder of Queertopia, a queer-centered experiential festival conceptualised around Being (in all one’s multiplicity) as a radical act of future world-building. She holds an MFA in Curating (Goldsmiths University of London) and a BA in Drama, Art History, and Visual Culture (University of Cape Town).

A Look Back at the Art Exchange: Moving Image London Residency Week
15 December 2023

In early December, Yinka Shonibare Foundation had the pleasure of co-hosting the six participants of the Art Exchange: Moving Image programme in London for an immersive one-week residency. This dynamic initiative, tailored for early to mid-career visual arts curators from Sub-Saharan Africa specialising in moving image projects, provided a unique space for cultural exchange and peer-led professional development. The selected programme participants are Abbey IT-A (Ghana), Ese Emmanuel (Nigeria), Jesse Gerard Mpango (Tanzania), Kefiloe Siwisa (South Africa), E.N Mirembe (Uganda), and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo (Kenya). Their week-long residency experience opened doors for engagement with various moving image collections, interactions with artists in the field, and meetings with curators across institutional, independent, and gallery backgrounds.

The residency commenced with a visit to LUX, an arts organisation that supports and promotes visual artists working with moving image and represents the UK’s only significant collection of moving image works produced by visual artists dating from the 1920s to the present day. This was followed by a visit to the British Council which has been collecting works across the visual art, craft and design spectrum to promote the achievements of the UK’s best artists, craft practitioners and designers since 1938. It provided a rare opportunity to meet with the Head of Collection, Moira Lindsay and view parts of the collection outside of an exhibition setting.

Tuesday unfolded with an evaluation workshop at Somerset House, followed by a visit to the Tate Modern to experience the “A World in Common” exhibition curated by Osei Bonsu. The day concluded with a meeting with Valentine Umansky, Curator of International Art/Moving Image at the Tate. 

The residency week continued with a trip to the Barbican and a meeting with the Head of Visual Arts, Shanay Jhaveri before viewing exhibitions “RE/SISTERS” along with Julianknxx’s “Chorus in Rememory of Flight” at The Curve. This was followed by a visit to Copperfield Gallery to meet with Larry Achiampong whose work “Relic 1′ forms part of the British Council collection.

Thursday marked an excursion beyond London, as the cohort headed to the coastal town of Margate. Guided by artist and curator Guy Oliver, the tour included stops at renowned art spaces such as Carl Freedman Gallery, Quench Gallery, and TKE Studios, culminating in a visit to Turner Contemporary. Here, the participants met with Senior Curator, Melissa Blanchflower and artist Mark Leckey, whose dynamic collaborative exhibition, “In the Offing,” occupied the first-floor gallery space. 

On the final day of the residency program, the cohort embarked on a visit to the BFI, where they met with William Fowler, the Curator of Artists’ Moving Image. This insightful session included a viewing of select works from the BFI collection, providing a deep dive into the realm of artists’ films. In the afternoon they travelled west across the city to Iniva. Here, they engaged with Artistic Director Sepake Angiama, the Iniva team, Rabz Lansiquot from Languid Hands, and ICF Curator Orsod Malik. The exhibition on display, “Anti-Colonial Ways of Seeing,” added a layer of depth to their discussions and served as a powerful backdrop to their dialogue.

On the final day of the residency program, the cohort embarked on a visit to the BFI, where they met with William Fowler, the Curator of Artists’ Moving Image. This insightful session included a viewing of select works from the BFI collection, providing a deep dive into the realm of artists’ films. In the afternoon they travelled west across the city to Iniva. Here, they engaged with Artistic Director Sepake Angiama, the Iniva team, Rabz Lansiquot from Languid Hands, and ICF Curator Orsod Malik. The exhibition on display, “Anti-Colonial Ways of Seeing,” added a layer of depth to their discussions and served as a powerful backdrop to their dialogue.

The day culminated in a networking evening at the Africa Centre. This gathering brought together curators, cultural stakeholders, G.A.S. and Guest Projects alumni, as well as artists actively contributing to the moving image realm. It was a perfect finale, fostering connections, exchanging ideas, and celebrating the vibrant intersection of creativity and cultural dialogue.

The Art Exchange: Moving Image programme is supported by the British Council and organised by LUX, the UK agency for the support and promotion of artists working with moving image, Yinka Shonibare Foundation and Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation, Nigeria. During 2023-2024 LUX and Guest Artists Space Foundation will work with curators in Sub-Saharan Africa to develop a series of exhibition projects responding to moving image works in the British Council Collection. The selected programme participants are Abbey IT-A (Ghana), Ese Emmanuel (Nigeria), Jesse Gerard Mpango (Tanzania), Kefiloe Siwisa (South Africa), E.N Mirembe (Uganda,) and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo (Kenya).

The Art Exchange: Moving Image curatorial cohort with artist Larry Achiampong and programme partners. From L-R: Chloe Austin (Relationship Manager, British Council), Leah McGurk (Relationship Manager, British Council), Ese Emmanuel (programme curator), Abbey IT-A (programme curator), Kefiloe Siwisa (programme curator), Mirembe E.N (programme curator), Benjamin Cook (Director, LUX), Larry Achiampong (Artist), Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo (programme curator), Jesse Mpango (programme curator) and Magda Kaggwa (Communications and Projects Manager, Yinka Shonibare Foundation).

From Kampala to Nairobi ‘in transit under another sky’ explores creative practice across borders

10 September 2024

In transit under another sky is an ambitious exhibition realised across Kampala and Nairobi by curators E.N. Mirembe and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo. The project brings together the work of 11 artists who engage deeply with themes of transience, marginal identities, and the idea of artistic practice navigating between physical spaces and geographies. Using Yvonne Vera’s novel Butterfly Burning as a conceptual springboard, the exhibition transposes Vera’s exploration of peripheral existence and the shifting “quality of light under different skies” into new contexts. While Vera’s narrative reflects her experiences of living between Canada and Zimbabwe, the exhibition is a testament to a wider resonance of these themes, speaking to the complexities of movement and belonging across borders and creative practices.

Exhibition visitors during the opening of in transit under another sky at Afropocene StudioLab, Kampala.

“Suspended between a present moment, one anticipated, or one revisited, we are gesturing towards a transitory temporality in which speculation and expectation inform our freedom-seeking movements. In the space between arrival and departure is a welcome purgatory, a small relief in considering the yet-to-be concluded. Also to know there is no punishment for the lack of resolution.”  – E.N Mirembe and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo

In transit under another sky features a series of specially commissioned works, including The Night Terminal, an immersive sensory installation by Ugandan audio-visual artist SCARLETMOTIF. The piece serves as a meditation on the concept of shelter, inviting viewers to reflect on the fluid, often impermanent spaces we inhabit between destinations.

Kenyan anti-disciplinary practitioner Kabi Kimari was invited to create one audio-visual installation for each site. In Kampala, Kimari presented Why Are You Performing For These Mortals, a deeply personal work delving into the tension between self-expression and societal conformity, that sought to address the complexities of embodying multiple facets of identity. In Nairobi, meanwhile, The Space(s) Between Time, acts as Kimari’s response to the discomfort of change, capturing the sense of being adrift and the challenge of trusting a journey without knowing its final destination.

Exhibition view of Kabi Kimari’s Why Are You Performing For These Mortals at Afropocene StudioLab, Kampala.

In addition to the newly commissioned works, in transit under another sky marks the debut of Gold Hands, a film by Jessica Atieno. Known for a practice that reinterprets history through a decolonial lens, Atieno primarily works with printmaking, tapestries, and moving image.

The exhibition also includes Relic 2, a film by British Ghanaian artist Larry Achiampong. The piece explores displacement through the traveller’s journey across historically significant sites reflecting on the Anthropocene and imperialism by intertwining past and future narratives. Its inclusion was made possible with project support from the British Council.

Gold Hands by Jessica Atieno presented at Afropocene StudioLab, Kampala.

In transit under another sky was on view at Afropocene, Kampala until 31st August before moving to the Kamene Cultural Centre, Nairobi where it remains open to the public until 21st September 2024.  As it moves between these locales, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the fluidity of personal journeys, leaving space for unresolved narratives and the possibility of transformation.

Exhibition view of Relic 2 by Larry Achiampong at Kamene Cultural Centre, Nairobi.

Exhibiting artists

Larry Achiampong, Jessica Atieno, Letaru Dralega, Wezile Harmans, Kabi Kimari, Liz Kobusinge & Darlyne Komukama, Peterson Kamwathi, Mogoi, Neema Ngelime, and SCARLETMOTIFF.

Exhibition view of works by Mogoi at Kemene Cultural Centre, Nairobi.

An Ode to a Time I Loved Bread by Neema Ngelime at Kemene Cultural Centre, Nairobi.

Works by Peterson Kamwathi (L) and Jessica Atieno (R) at Kamene Cultural Centre, Nairobi.

From L-R: Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo, Letaru Dralega, SCARLETMOTIFF, and E.N Mirembe.

The private view of in transit under another sky at Afropocene StudioLab, Kampala.

‘In the Midst’ Marks the First Chapter of the Art Exchange: Moving Image Programme in Kampala
9 August 2024

In the Midst is the first exhibition to be realised as part of the Art Exchange: Moving Image programme. Curated by E.N Mirembe (Kampala, Uganda) and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo (Nairobi, Kenya), the installation by artists Darlyne Komukama and Liz Kobusinge, which opened at Afropocene Capsule, Kampala on Friday 2nd August 2024, comprises etchings printed on bark cloth and lint paper juxtaposed with moving image projections. 

The exhibited works were borne out of an experiment undertaken by the artists during a residency at LAPA Project Space in Johannesburg, South Africa where circular brass plates prepared with soft ground were placed on the floor in their apartment. Friends were invited to dance on the plates creating impressions that acted as an organic archive of community, collective intimacy, and memory whilst holding space for collective art-making. The resulting plates were etched and printed onto handmade bark cloth, an ancient craft native to the Baganda people of southern Uganda.

“Our explorations centred on remembrance, and curiosity as a driving force to build on practices that rely on alternative processes and materials, intending to share and expand our interest in sustainable practices as rituals of memory keeping. This process-based materials study explores how we create and document soundscapes, as an access point into a shared inheritance that is preserved through body memory.” – Darlyne Komukama and Liz Kobusinge.

In the Midst is the first happening in a series of exhibitions conceived by curators Mirembe and Rosie as part of the Art Exchange: Moving Image programme. The second iteration, titled in transit under another sky opens at Afropocene StudioLab on 10th August and features work by 11 artists; Larry Achiampong, Jessica Atieno, Letaru Dralega, Wezile Harmans, Kabi Kimari, Liz Kobusinge & Darlyne Komukama, Peterson Kamwathi, Mogoi, Neema Ngelime, and SCARLETMOTIFF.

“in transit under another sky invokes the fugitive nature of art and artists working in-between spaces, considering physical geographies as well as other marginal identities and what emerges from the positionality of transience. We take the idea of a ‘moving image’ as a provocation beyond form to affect; moved to feel, or moved to a feeling. Nomadic images that move between spaces, traverse borders, images, shadows and traces that are quite literally in transit. The act of transit being both contentious and generative.” – E.N Mirembe and Rosie Olang’ Odhiambo.

In transit under another sky will run at Afropocene StudioLab, Kampala until 31st August before moving to the Kamene Cultural Centre, Nairobi where it will be on view until 21st September 2024.

Exhibiting artists Liz Kobusinge and Darlyne Komukama with exhibition curator E.N Mirembe and event attendees during the opening of In the Midst on 2nd August 2024. Image courtesy of the curators.