11th Dak’Art
May 9 – June 8, 2014
Curators:
Elise ATANGANA
(France/Cameroun): Responsible of selection of Diaspora artists.
Abdelkader DAMANI
(Algeria) : Responsible of selection of North African artists.
Smooth UGOCHUKWU Chukwudi Nzew
(Nigeria, lives in USA): Responsible of selection of artists from African countries south of Sahara.
Elise Atangana is an independent producer and curator and communication
officer at SNCF, based in Paris.
She collaborated with Simon Njami on different projects such as Luanda
Triennale (2003), Havana Biennale (2006) and the African Pavilion at the Venice
Biennale (2007).
From 2007 to 2012, she worked as a communication officer at SNCF Foundation
supporting social projects with young audiences. In parallel, she co-founded in
2010 On The Roof, a curators’ collective which develops exhibitions such
as Synchronicity I & II at Galerie Baudoin-Lebon, Paris, France (2011)
and Tiwani Contemporary in London, UK (2012) and Cyclical cities at Galerie Le
Manège, Dakar, Senegal (2013)
Currently, Elise Atangana also collaborates with the art publisher REVUE NOIRE and with Elvira Dyangani Ose on Rencontres Picha, Biennale de Lubumbashi 2012 / 2013 in DR Congo. She studied business and administration with a specialization in developing countries as well as communication.
Abdelkader Damani
Abdelkader Damani develops curatorial practice around the interaction of four
‘players’ he considers structuring its projects: the work, the space, the viewer and
the discourse.
Trained in architecture at Oran (Algeria), he studied, on his arrival in France in
1993, art history and philosophy at the University Lyon 2 and Lyon 3. After being
in charge of art and architecture projects in Cultural meeting Centre of la Tourette,
Le Corbusier’s architecture, he led since 2007, the “VEDUTA” platform at the
Biennale of Contemporary Art of Lyon. He is also an independent curator and
works at the School of Art and Design Grenoble – Valence.
His recent publications include: Thierry Raspail, Hou Hanru & Abdelkader
Damani, Le spectacle et le quotidien, Dijon, Presses du Réel, 2011; Recyclage et Urbanité, Paris, Editions de la Villette, 2010; Intuitions, in Biennale de Lyon 2011, Volume 2, Dijon, Presses du Réel, 2012, Une équation à quatre variables, in Gestes Nomades, HEAD – Geneva, Geneva (forthcoming in late 2013).
Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi is the Curator of African Art at the Hood Museum,
Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA.
Born in Nigeria, Nzewi trained as a sculptor under the supervision of El Anatsui at
the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he earned a B.A. in Fine and Applied Art.
He received a postgraduate diploma in the African Program in Museum and
Heritage Studies from the University of Western Cape, South Africa, and a PhD in
Art History from Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
In addition to his parallel practices as visual artist, critic, and art historian, Nzewi
has curated exhibitions in Nigeria, South Africa, United States, and Senegal,
including most recently:Transitions: Contemporary South African Works on Paper
at the High Museum Atlanta, USA in 2009 and Windows Part 1: New Works by Ndary Lo as part of the fringe exhibitions of the Dak’Art Biennale in 2012. Nzewi has published book chapters and catalogue essays, as well as articles and exhibition reviews in reputable art journals and magazines, including African Arts, Studio, World Art and SAVVY.