Zeitz MOCAA unveils topical 2020 line-up

THIS year, the Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa) welcomes a host of exciting exhibitions and artists.

These include Hommage à Youssouf Tata Cissé et Germaine Dieterlen, a site-specific work by Abdoulaye Konaté opening in February; an exhibition of major installation works from the experiences of Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar when he was in central Africa, which opens in March; and Shooting Down Babylon, a survey exhibition by Tracey Rose which opens in April.

On January 18, from 11am to 12.30pm, visitors can join the museum for a conversation between Lungiswa Gqunta from South Africa and Misheck Masamvu from Zimbabwe for the first iteration of Zeitz MOCAA’s Two Together: Artists in Dialogue series.

“This brings together artists whose works are paired in a re-installation of the museum’s collection. The exhibition will be on view for a year, and inaugurates a dedicated space for the institution’s collection.

“The show is built around major themes explored by artists from Africa and its diaspora represented in the collection. Each gallery contains a pair: either two objects, or multiple works by two artists, or two major themes – either in dialogue, as counterpoints, or in complementary ways,” the museum said.

“The artists will expound on the use of colour and movement to capture subconscious feeling and mood, as well as their broader artistic practice. Both artists provide a metaphysical, yet visual language for the psychological state in the wake of post-independence movements that advocate for the reclamation of agency and restoration of dignity.”

From January 28, Otobong Nkanga’s installation, Taste of a Stone, in the exhibition Acts At The Crossroads will be on show. It’s characterised by the artist’s interest in exploring stories, narratives and histories – of landscape, nature and place – as mediated by the body, and visitors can join poets and storytellers as they inhabit the gallery with their own narratives in response to the work of Nkanga.

The Children’s MOCAA

Tour, meanwhile, takes place on January 11 from 11am.

This month’s tour will focus on the playful, interactive exhibition, And So The Stories Ran Away, which is geared towards children.

For more information, call 0873504777 or email info@ zeitzmocaa.museum.