Book on contemporary art in Mozambique reveals 14 stories of resistance

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Book on contemporary art in Mozambique reveals 14 stories of resistance

4:17 CAT | 26 Nov 2020

Image: Hangar Books 2020 via DGArtes

A book that brings together 14 stories of resistance from contemporary Mozambican artists living in the country and abroad will be published in Lisbon on Friday by Hangar Books, to promote the visibility of a “still little known” work at international level.

“Atlantica: Contemporary Art from Mozambique and its Diaspora” is the second volume published by Hangar Books, which specialises in contemporary arts and was created by the association of the same name.

The work, conceived and developed by artists together with theorists, curators and researchers, takes into account the artistic production of the new millennium in Mozambique, and combines work by a selection of Mozambican artists living inside and outside the country and essays in various formats.

Maimuna Adam, Filipe Branquinho, Jorge Dias, Angela Ferreira, Gemuce, Eurídice Kala, Camila Maissune, Gonçalo Mabunda, Mário Macilau, Celestino Mudaulane, Félix Mula, Eugenia Mussa, Marilú Námoda and Mauro Pinto are the Mozambican artists represented.

Angela Ferreira, who is responsible for the Mozambique volume, told Lusa that “this 0is a book created by artists and for artists, with the objective of filling an important gap in publications in which they are referenced in contemporary art international circuits”.

“Contemporary African art is currently in great demand, but there is an absence with regard to African artists from Portuguese-speaking countries. These artists are poorly represented in international catalogues,” Ferreira said, comparing the situation in Mozambique to that of South Africa, where she lived and studied, and whose economic power provides its artists with exposure which other African countries, such as Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Cape Verde, cannot give.

To implement their idea, the Hangar association created a specific editorial line, also coordinated by artist Mónica Miranda, whose first edition was dedicated to contemporary art in Angola.

Now it is the turn of Mozambique, with a third title planned for Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, always with the reference “Atlântica” in the title, Ferreira said.

Invited to edit the volume on Mozambique, Ferreira made her selection in tandem with an artist consultative committee brought together by Hangar.

Inside are stories by 14 authors, with different artistic perspectives and visions which show the contemporary art practices which emerged or were developed in the country as “tools of resistance and rebellion”.

“As such, they were central to the decolonisation strategies that artists used to understand, analyse and resist the socioeconomic impact of everyday events and their own personal realities,” she told Lusa.

The essays are signed by Portuguese and foreign curators and researchers such as Storm Janse Van Rensburg, Raquel Schefer, Álvaro Luis Lima, Alda Costa, Drew Thompson, António Pinto Ribeiro, Ana Balona de Oliveira, Afonso Dias Ramos, Nomusa Makhubu, João Silvério, Maria do Mar Fazenda, Rui Assubuji, Nkule Mabaso, Paula Nascimento, Dellinda Collier, Azu Nwagbogu, and Sihle Motsa.

The book will be launched at 6:00 p.m. on Friday at the Hangar Artistic Research Centre in Lisbon, and the session will include a discussion featuring artist ngela Ferreira and curator Azu Nwagbogu.

Source: Lusa