MashUp

Over it's 30 year history, the Iwalewa-Haus in Bayreuth has generated a substantial archive of Art, Music and Film material from Africa. This has recently been digitised and is accessible online. The conceptual point of departure of this project is to take this dormant material and make it active. The intention is to explore imaginative and accessible ways for new audiences to connect with a rich and varied archive of African art Our approach is to work with a guest curator, Sam Hopkins, and a new generation of young African artists to connect the traditional African Art of the archive with a Contemporary Conceptual African practice. The archive becomes both material and inspiration for new works which would make it visible in a new form. The logic of visibility is further extended into the display of these artworks; a selection of empty commercial and industrial spaces will be temporarily occupied during the project and host mini festivals. The artworks will be exhibited within a bigger context of discussions, symposia and concerts. These festivals will not just show the contents from the archive, but also provide a platform for contemporary cultural production from Africa. More information coming soon