Highlights On Talks Programme
The programme will open with a session hosted by the Sharjah Foundation, a pivotal cultural institution based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The Foundation is renowned for its commitment to fostering cultural exchange and supporting contemporary art practices from across the Arab world and beyond. Their involvement in the fair highlights their role in promoting dialogue between different cultural spheres, particularly focusing on contemporary art from Africa and the Middle East. This session will offer attendees valuable insights into the Foundations initiatives and its impact on the international art landscape.
Following this, the fair will present an engaging discussion titled Artful Motherhood: Navigating Creativity and the Influence of Parenthood on Artistic Practice. This talk, presented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery, will feature Chicago-based painter Ashley January and UK-based photographer Dola Posh.
January and Posh will share their personal experiences of how motherhood intersects with their artistic careers. January is known for her evocative paintings that often explore themes of identity and resilience, while Poshs photography captures intimate moments and narratives within familial contexts.
The second day will also include a panel titled Bridging Cultures: Promoting African Art in the Asian Market, featuring Pearl Lam, a prominent art gallerist with a strong presence in Hong Kong and Shanghai Nigerian contemporary artist Alimi Adewale and Alayo Akinkugbe, a writer, art historian, and curator known for her influential Instagram account A Black History of Art and her podcast A Shared Gaze. This will delve into the opportunities and challenges of promoting African art within the Asian market, discussing the cross-cultural exchanges and market dynamics that influence how African art is received and appreciated in Asia.
On the third day, the talk program will feature Portrait Place: Photography in Senegal, 1840-1960, led by Giulia Paoletti, an associate professor of art history at the University of Virginia. Paoletti will examine the evolution of photography in Senegal from the early daguerreotypes to the modernist practices of photographers like Oumar Ka. This discussion will explore how photography in Senegal intersected with various cultural and colonial influences, challenging conventional assumptions about modernity and African photography.