Presented until July 28 at Berlin’s KINDL – Centre du Contemporain Am Sudhaus 3, the group exhibition entitled “Re-imagining the Past” offers a unique opportunity to revisit history through the captivating prism of contemporary African art. The initiative, which took shape in Dakar over a year ago, brings together an impressive diversity of artists and artistic media.
Under the direction of a team of curators from Germany and Senegal, this exhibition benefited from the close collaboration of artists and thinkers from various African backgrounds, the diaspora, Germany and even India. The aim was to explore the possibility of creating alternative narratives for the future by reinterpreting the past and giving voice to the margins of society.
Through a variety of installations, photographs and objects, the artists in the “Re-imagining the Past” exhibition re-evaluate historical tools, reinterpret narratives of the past, rediscover forgotten knowledge and weave links between space and time. By offering a comprehensive discursive program, this exhibition aims to open up new avenues of access to alternative forms of knowledge and knowledge transmission, paving the way for the emergence of fresh perspectives and innovative narratives.
Imagining a decolonial future inevitably involves a reflexive return to the past. With this in mind, this project focuses on the enduring legacies of colonial history that continue to influence current power structures and dynamics – what might be termed “colonialities” in our contemporary society. The “Re-imagining the Past” exhibition provides a window onto a re-reading of the past through prisms that challenge established Eurocentric narratives. At the heart of this approach lies the fundamental question: can a reinterpretation of our histories generate a new ethical framework to guide relations between South and North?
The protagonists engaged in this rereading of the past include artists such as Elsa M’Bala, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Caroline Gueye, Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Ibrahima Thiam, Viyé Diba, Mansour Ciss Kanakassy, Uriel Orlow, baobab creation and the C& Center for Unfinished Business. Under the guidance of curators Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Isabel Raabe, Ibou C. Diop and Malick Ndiaye, this collective of artists offers a singular and committed vision.
Presented for the first time in 2023 at the Museum Théodore Monod in Dakar, the exhibition “Re-imagining the Past” is part of the artistic research project TALKING OBJECTS LAB – Decolonizing Knowledge. Initiated in 2020, this project proposes a series of events, artist residencies and exhibitions in Senegal, Kenya, Germany and other countries. It is financially supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, ifa – Institute for Foreign Relations and Pro Helvetia.
