September 19, 2024 (Ouidah and Cotonou, Republic of Benin) – Following the successful third iteration of traveling exhibition ‘Dig Where You Stand: From Coast to Coast’ in Portugal, the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organization and art space based in Lagos, Nigeria, announces its upcoming edition in Benin. Taking place at the Fondation Zinsou Musée, Ouidah, and Les Ateliers Coffi, Cotonou, from September 27 – December 1, 2024, the programming will feature roundtables, workshops and exhibitions focusing on how art can aid in the understanding the collective self. Curated by photographer Delali Ayivi with curatorial advisory from AAF founder Azu Nwagbogu, the exhibitions will showcase over 50 artworks including paintings, photographic works, and installations, by 22 returning and new participating artists.
Creativity and imagination are essential cornerstones of society, enabling us to envision futures and drive progress. Yet, West Africans have historically been denied the opportunity to fully harness their own history and culture to shape their evolution. In response, this edition of ‘Dig Where You Stand’ is dedicated to showcasing art as a powerful tool for crafting new, restorative narratives. Presenting artists whose practices embody a contemporary, self-directed vision of Africa’s culture, the artists reconnect with their roots through their unique experiences and histories. Taking place in various cultural spaces in Ouidah and Cotonou, the exhibition will showcase artworks by returning artists from previous editions including Zanele Muholi, and Joana Choumali, as well as new participating artists, such as Beninese artists Charbel Coffi and Roméo Mivekannin and American multimedia artist Bayeté Ross Smith.
Emphasizing the importance of community-centered spaces, the programming will include workshops and roundtables with local and international thinkers, transcending societal boundaries, class divisions, and geographical borders. Examining relations towards nature, religion, (geo-)politics, socio-economics, and time, and how these are linked to the creation of culture and identity, discourse will be centered in exploring homegrown identities from the African continent.
‘Dig Where You Stand’ was conceived as more than just an exhibition. It was the beginning of a cultural experiment and movement to explore the role of art in shifting the decolonial paradigm away from Western museums towards a location-specific, solution-oriented approach. Emphasizing on travel, migration and (dis)placement, artists and local communities examine the economies of the colonial systems that have historically marginalized vulnerable communities and find new methodologies in the art world, creating a toolkit for commencing regenerative economic processes. ‘Dig Where You Stand’ will continue its journey to other locations across Africa, from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to Dakar, Senegal, tentatively in 2025.
Left: Zanele Muholi, Aphelile X, 2020. Courtesy of the artist and African Artists’ Foundation. Right: Silvia Rosi, ABC VLISCO 1, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist and African Artists’ Foundation.
Participating Artists:
Bayeté Ross Smith, Bruno et Brice ZOUNTOUNNOU, Caleb Kwarteng Prah, Charbel Coffi, Dodji Efoui, Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Enrique Ramírez, Joana Choumali, Kapwani Kiwanga, Kwami Da Costa, Louis Oke-Agbo, MAR+VIN, Natalia Lassalle-Morillo, Nedia Were, DJ Orlando, Oroko Radio, Renzo Martens and CATPC, Roméo Mivekannin, Salù Iwadi Studio, Silvia Rosi, Victor Ehikhamenor and Zanele Muholi.
About Delali Ayivi:
Delali Ayivi is a photographer whose works have been published by the likes of Vogue and Dazed Magazine.
Delali was named one of the Dazed 100 Talents and was honored by the British Fashion Council, as one of 2023’s NEW WAVE Creatives.
Delali began her photography journey by capturing images of friends and family in Germany, Togo, and Malawi. Her discovery of the work of her great-great-grandfather, Alex A. Acolatse—one of the first Togolese photographers—motivated her to focus on documenting fashion. In 2019, Delali and her friend Malaika Nabillah collaborated to create Togo Yeye, a project that works to document and inspire the creative community in Togo and its diaspora.
About AAF | africanartists.org
African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) founded in 2007, Lagos, Nigeria, is a decentralized, multivalent, metamorphic art space that embraces community values, experimental artistic principles in supporting boundary-breaking and artistic ideas. Over the years, AAF has evolved beyond the limiting shell of a non-profit, to embody an art space that is responsive, attuned to social justice issues, ecology, freedom, community initiatives by empowering creative expression.
AAF is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art, design, and culture through residencies, workshops, innovative exhibitions, and educational programs. We aim to further challenge and inspire our community, unearth and develop more talents while also promoting inclusiveness. Our goal is to be a dynamic and interactive space that sparks meaningful dialogue and encourages critical thinking, celebrates community programs and ultimately to become a change-maker through the power of art.