Date/Time
Date(s) - September 25, 2024 - December 15, 2024
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location
Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, University Center for the Arts
Illuminating Identity: A Celebration of African Artists in the Digital Era
Patricia Crane Coronel Curatorial Gallery: September 25 to December 15, 2024
View an online version of the exhibition!
Illuminating Identity: A Celebration of African Artists in the Digital Era is the result of a project undertaken by art and art history students at Colorado State University during a seminar course on Contemporary African Art in Spring 2024. Throughout the semester, students were asked to research and read about the field of African art history with a focus on the postcolonial period. We critically examined how ideas of “naivety” and “primitivism” that originated in colonial narratives have deeply affected art historical scholarship on African art and explored more recent discussions concerning the “authenticity” of contemporary African art.
As we began developing this exhibition, we felt it was important to feature African artists and their individual experiences. As a result, we sought artists who largely work in digital media and asked them to respond to the topic of “identity.” We hope the focus on digital media will highlight the innovative nature of art that is being produced across the African continent and will counter many of the stereotypes that have plagued both media about and images of Africa across the globe.
After developing an international call for submissions, we are thrilled to present work from seven artists currently living and working across the African continent and diaspora. This is a juried exhibition with two $300 prizes which will have been awarded through a juried and public vote held in person and online. This exhibition is also displayed in Nkangala, South Africa, through a partnership with the Kghodwana Cultural Village and Museum and the Africa Meets Africa Project.
As one of the first international collaborative exhibitions solely to highlight the works of African artists working in digital media, we are excited to showcase these diverse artworks and challenge viewers to engage critically with their preconceived notions of Africa and African art. We hope to foster conversations about art and identity and offer new perspectives on the dynamism that has always been inherent in art making across the African continent.
–Isabel Anderson, Class of 2026
View the voting results of the exhibition here!
Featured artists in Illuminating Identity: A Celebration of African Artists in the Digital Era
Abel Tesfaye, known professionally as Abelafitz (Ethiopia)
Christelle Emulu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Neals Niat (Cameroon / France)
Pebofatso Mokoena (South Africa)
Thuthukani Myeza (South Africa)
Tlhomamo Molefe (South Africa)
Trueboy Samarista Gayiza Dlamini (South Africa)
Student Co-Curators
Isabel Anderson
Alison Braun
KJ Christensen
Trinity Corney
Miriame Dimulu
Paige Foster
Madrigal Frederick-Law
Sophie Goik
Brandon Guzman
Claire Havenhill
Zoe Jara
Sophie Levitt
Olivia MacLeod
Kaitlyn Maier
Alyssa Melnick
Hannah Mismas
Riane Olsen
Romy Paolini
Emma Sherrets
Lauryn Smith
View the online version of the exhibition