OKWUI ENWENZOR-ART CURATOR As the first African-born chief curator Okwui Enwezor born in Nigeria was able bring the attention of the world to Africa

Subject:BusinessPrice: Bought3

Share With

OKWUI ENWENZOR-ART CURATOR

As the first African-born chief curator Okwui Enwezor born in Nigeria was able bring the attention of the world to Africa. This was through his great exhibitions of Art and politics, Africa and Venice Biennale. Okwui Enwezor is a writer, poet, educator and art critic. He is globally credited for the presence of the political arts that were practiced 120 years ago. This research paper entails of the background, great exhibitions and analysis of work done by curator Okwui Enwezor.

Enwezor was brought up in Eastern Nigerian in a place called Enugu. He resettled in the United States in the early 1980s for further studies. He attended the Jersey City State College and awarded a degree in political science. Enwezor was a knee observer at the exhibits he attended; he noted that Africans were not involved in them. This led to the loss his urge to attend the shows hence he broadly started writing for the art magazine. His contribution to the art magazine was a great deal that it led to his launching of his own Nka; Journal of Contemporary African Art in 1994. The magazine was published as part of Africana Studies and Research Centre at Cornell University, Ithaca New York City.

In 1996, he was worldly recognized for his work on the exhibit about the African photography at Guggenheim Museum, SoHo, New York City, in 1998-2000 as an adjunct curator in the contemporary art at the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1997 at the ‘Africus’ Second Johannesburg Biennale. He later exhibits trended in the Europe and Canada alongside him showing the work of a South Africa photographer David Goldblatt in 2000.In addition to this him also being a lecturer and a member of most art juries and partnering with Olu Oguibe contributed to his gaining of popularity.

In 2000 Enwezor’s great show ‘The Short Century: Independence and liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994; at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre in Queens New York. As the artistic director of ‘Documenta 11’ the 11th in a sequence of world exhibition in 1998-2000 that are held in Kessal, Gey for three months every five years, he took part in the social change by practicing his theory of art. The exhibitions being recognized as ‘the Olympics of contemporary arts’ he was the first non European to be the host. He scheduled a sequence of seminars on world matters in the preparation of the exhibitions.

The matters included political issues; globalization and he went a step further by looking into American and European cultures into African Arts. He mainly looked at his philosophy ideas over objects-in contrast to the ‘art for art’s sake’. Enwezor view curatorship as an important activity in the world. He goes further to explain how artists contribute to this by; having meaningful things to say, resources to explore and create different situation that make people have a better understanding of the world.Okwui Enwezor works for instructions such as the Hausder Kunst museum in Munich, Germany where he is the director, also he is the first African director of the Venice Biennale.

Uses of documents in contemporary arts, was organized at the International Centre of photograph in New York 2008 by Okwui Enwezor. The artists used photography images to bring new ideas on identity, memory and history. These enabled archival influences, through the images people were able to structure the history in different perspectives. The exhibition was key at exploring the ways in which the artists use the archival structures and materials. It therefore made it possible for the artists to come up with different results even if they are using the same archival structures and materials.

The ‘Snap judgments: New position in contemporary African photography’ at the International Centre of photography. New York City in 2006.This was an exhibition organized by Okwui Enwenzor. The intension of the exhibit was to bring into notice a well known terminology Afro-pessimism. The exhibit brought a contradiction between negative contemporary Western attitudes and stereotypical ideas of Africa. That is it brought out the petty images of diseased people, corruption and poverty which are experienced in Africa. Te exhibit was to introduce recent and exciting methods on conceptual art, documentary and fashion photography. The works displayed at the exhibition produced since 2000 which were mainly meant for the function. By uniting the different perspectives of the contemporary artists and photographers describing how Africa should be looked at. It enables the artists to use photography as an equipment to follow the arc of different social realities. The themes that are brought out of the exhibition include the following; local behavior to the world media and the tourisms; cultivating the African body; realize the after colonial memories; town sites; and equipments and organization of modernity. Hence the exhibition leads to quick changing of social dynamics.

The exhibitions organized by Okwui Enwenzor were of some importance to the global. The exhibitions brought about networking. By networking it was able to give a chance to contemporary artists and photographers around the global a great opportunity for creating contact. This brought a great impact on their works by making them more successful. The exhibitions also made it possible for them to learn from experience. That is the mistakes made by various contemporary artists and photographers were able to be rectified at the exhibitions. This also enabled them to learn new ideas from the exhibition hence improving on their works.

Face to face contact was also a benefit of Enwenzor exhibitions. This is to the fact that it enabled the contemporary artists and photographers build a solid relationship with each other. Thus gaining as much knowledge as possible. After the event, this is where by the participants have to put in plans what they have leant from the exhibition.

A review done by Roberta Smith May15, 2015 on an exhibition about Art for the Planet’s Sake at Venice Biennale describes how Enwenzor puts efforts in shifting the centre of gravity away from the West and the art market. He goes further to explain how Okwui Enwenzor has no interest in artistic urgency; his concern is the urgent state of the world. Enwenzor’s two exhibitions use of documents in contemporary arts and use of documents in contemporary photographs has being of influence to various artists such as Marcel Duchamp. The archival practice of the exhibitions is still reflected in the twentieth century.

The exhibitions organized by Okwui Enwenzor were of great importance. This is due to the fact that they introduced Africans in taking part in these curator exhibitions. The exhibitions brought out the awareness of what was taking place in Africa hence solutions were worked upon.

Okwui Enwenzor is great curator. His works are highly recommended in various parts of the global. Enwenzor being the first African born curator, he is the director of institutions in Europe. Curatorship is of importance since it’s able to bring out different perspectives on how people view something. Through the experience have gained in this research, is that curatorship should not be left out in our society. Its due to the fact that curatorship makes one stick to his or her origin, even if he or she relocates to other parts of the world.