Afropolis. City, Media, Art

Today more than half the world's population lives in cities. While many cities in Europe are shrinking, countries in the southern hemisphere are confronted with rapid urbanization. In fact, most of the world's megacities are now located in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many people in Germany are still unfamiliar with the cultural development in Africa due to the fact that media coverage continues to grossly neglect the continent. Consequently, we know very little about the specific topographies and cultures in African cities which do not necessarily correspond to historic Euro-American models of urban development. The exhibition “Afropolis. City, Media, Art” examined six African cities, their significant structures and patterns of development. With texts, photos and audio material, the exhibition presented the history of each city, while European and African artists addressed the current challenges of urbanism in a variety of new works, including photography, graphic art, sculptures, video works and interactive network art projects. The combination of scientific analysis and artistic research, as well as the cooperation between curators and artists, produced a comprehensive view of the highly dynamic, informal processes at work in African cities.

Project director: Kerstin Pinther
Curators: Kerstin Pinther, Christian Hanussek, Larissa Förster

Venues and schedule:
4 November 2010 - 13 March 2011 Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum Cologne
2011 Goethe-Institut Nairobi,
Iwalewa-Haus Bayreuth 28 April - 4 September 2011