Inspired by philosopher Édouard Glissant’s challenge to free history from its confinement as a “functional fantasy of the West” rather than leaving it to the designs of historians, “Giving Contours To Shadows” explores alternative concepts of history in art and theory. The project establishes a space for the exploration of myriad theories and discourses which look beyond Western perspectives of history, creating new contemporary narrative structures, and overcoming colonial and post-colonial discourse. The exhibition and program are organized across five interlinking themes: “Performing and Embodying Histories”, “Wandering through Histories”, “Unthinking the Chimera”, “Sequestrating History” and “Pre-writing Histories”. The roundtable program will address discussions on the ideology of space, performativity and archival practice, and the notion of pre-writing history.

“Giving Contours to Shadows” is curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung in collaboration with Elena Agudio and Storm Janse van Rensburg, who have invited artists working in the visual and performing arts to produce new works for the exhibition to be shown in Berlin and at five leading African cultural institutions. The Schering Stiftung has chosen to sponsor this artistic research project in light of its capacity to reflect upon the global import of other bodies of cultural knowledge through the lens of the ‘wordless’ historical narratives that are expressed in art.

Giving Contours To Shadows

First Opening:
Statements by the exhibition’s curators and von Njami (curator and art critic, Paris)
Performance: Lerato Shadi, Mosako wa nako
Performance: Mwangi Hutter, Drastic

Publications
Publishers Walther König (Cologne) will publish a volume in the n.b.k. “Diskurs” series with contributions in German and English by Elena Agudio, Marius Babias, Alexander Farenholtz, Premesh Lalu, Heike Catherina Mertens, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Simon Njami, Tavia Nyong’o, Sarah Rifky, Storm Janse van Rensburg, and Hortensia Völckers. The exhibition is accompanied by a pamphlet with brief texts about the participating artists.

Giving Contours To Shadows is sponsored by the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and by the Schering Stiftung.