A season of South Africa is brought to New York city
by Kresta Tyler Johnson
'Season South Africa' is a celebration of the country's contemporary visual and performing arts that will be shown in New York city from September 21 to January 3, 2005. Envisioned with a mandate of 'challenging general perceptions of South African art practice and performance', it will be an arduous task for the participants to upset a Western audience's stereotypes.
Representing the range of South African visual and performing arts are two significant events. One will be the exhibition 'Personal Affects: Power and Poetics in Contemporary South African Art' curated by a team of mainly South African curators and shown at The Cathedral of St John the Divine � the primary venue for 'Season SA' � and the Museum for African Art.
Acclaimed lyric theatre company Dimpho Di Kopane will be representing the performing arts. They will stage four productions at The Cathedral, which will include the world premieres of two South African interpretations of traditional performances. Ikumankanikazi ye Khephu is Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, and U-Carmen is a Xhosa version of Bizet's famed opera. For New York's astute and sophisticated audience, these may be eye openers.
The art exhibition in dual venues will show leading figures in contemporary South African art including Jane Alexander, Thando Mama, Samson Mudzunga, Wim Botha, Berni Searle and Minnette V�ri among others. It will include both commissioned and recently completed works.
While many of these artists are well known throughout South Africa and even beyond, they still have yet to break into an art centre such as New York. This exhibition will hopefully provide another opportunity to expose United States audiences to the innovative South African artistic endeavours.
It is a bit presumptuous to think that these two events, however important, will completely reframe the views and opinions of Western audiences, but it is certainly another step in the right direction. Says project leader Ralph Freese, 'The developed world holds a view of the art and culture of African (sic) that is not accurate. We hope to help shift that mindset, demonstrating that developments in contemporary South African arts have capitulated (sic) us into a leading position globally.'
I think there are those in the developed world who are aware of the South African art scene, supportive of its endeavours and who seek to promote the extraordinary work coming from this part of the continent, but it certainly does not hurt to have more recruits.
More information can be obtained from the website: www.seasonsouthafrica.org
