EUROPA, OXALÁ

EUROPA, Oxalá presents the work of twenty-one European artists and thinkers whose family origins lie in the former colonies. These “children of Empires”, born and raised in a post-colonial context, reflect on their heritage, their memory and identity.

Their parents and grandparents were born and lived in Angola, Congo, Benin, Guinea, Algeria and Madagascar; from their ancestors they have inherited memories that come to them diffusely from family and friends and which are not just voices, sounds and gestures, but also images and memories of their cultures of origin, starting points for vital investigative work in historical, familial and institutional archives. Their artistic productions feed into an original reflection on racism, the decolonisation of the arts, the status of women in contemporary society, and even the deconstruction of colonial thought.

The innovative and transnational nature of the work of these artists of ‘post-memory’ has profoundly marked the artistic and cultural landscape of the last two decades and the way some of them combine contemporary languages and traditional processes can be seen as an essential contribution to contemporary Europe. Through their works, Europa, Oxalá bears witness to the creative power of contemporary European cultural diversity, opening up new perspectives on the very notion of Europe.

The exhibition Europa, Oxalá presents around 60 works (painting, drawing, sculpture, film, photography, installation) by 21 artists: Aimé Mpane, Aimé Ntakiyica, Carlos Bunga, Délio Jasse, Djamel Kokene-Dorléans, Fayçal Baghriche, Francisco Vidal, John K. Cobra, Katia Kameli, Mohamed Bourouissa, Josèfa Ntjam, Malala Andrialavidrazana, Márcio Carvalho, Mónica de Miranda, Nú Barreto, Pauliana Valente Pimentel, Pedro A. H. Paixão, Sabrina Belouaar, Sammy Baloji, Sandra Mujinga and Sara Sadik.
The exhibition was first  presented at MUCEM, in Marseilles (FR) before moving to the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (PT) and then to the AfricaMUSEUM in Tervuren (BE).

Curators: Katia Kameli, Aimé Mpane Enkobo and António Pinto Ribeiro.

Discover Pedro A.H. Paixão’s video interview here.

Opening Thursday 6.10.22, 5.30pm (by invitation)
Tuesdays to Fridays, 10am > 5pm
Saturdays and Sundays, 10am > 6pm
Exhibition until Sunday 5.03.23

Location
AfricaMUSEUM
Leuvensesteenweg 13
3080 Tervuren (BE)

Read more about Pedro A.H. Paixão