The exhibition Archiving the Mo(ve)ment, running from 11 – 13 September, brings together a time capsule on Ghana in the 1950s with the threads of current conversations that have been explored as part of a four-month-long project by Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin during his period of isolation in Accra, Ghana, in the context of his online residency as part of the COLLECTIVE PRACTICES programme.
Archiving the Mo(ve)ment looks into creating narratives of what it means to be Black and African today, as a collective practice. As part of a wider project (TAC), Omonblanks facilitates and documents multifaceted and collaborative oral histories of lived experiences of Black and African people on the continent and in the diaspora. This chapter, taking place in the context of COLLECTIVE PRACTICES – has focused on the current pandemic moment.
We are grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to organize a physical exhibition as part of this project that so far has taken place entirely online.
Programme Overview
Exhibition (Conversation Capsule & Time Capsule) @ ACUD Studio: 11 – 13. September
Opening with Artist Talk: 11. September, 6 pm @ ACUD backyard
Food & DJ Sets: 11. & 12. September, 6 – 9 pm @ Max Fish (outdoor bar in front of ACUD)
Exhibition
The exhibition comprises two parts – the Conversation Capsule and the Time Capsule.
Conversation Capsule
Documented conversations by Omonblanks will be exhibited. These conversations explore Black and African perspectives, those of the African diaspora, and those within the various intersections. All conversations form part of the multifaceted narratives – documented in the continuously growing TAC archive.
Time Capsule
The audience is invited to a multimedia time capsule, transporting the attendees to Gold Coast/Ghana in the 1950s. This includes fragments from the country’s music and visual archives, leading back to the scene of the independence movements, remembering Ghana as the first African country that was freed of colonial rule.
Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin is an archivist, curator, producer and creative director. He is the founder of TAC (The Art Concept) organisation, a documentation and archive-focused platform, interested in studying African and Black societies from community, city and country perspectives. He was born in Benin/Nigeria and is currently based in Accra/Ghana.
The exhibition can be visited in the ACUD studio, Veteranenstr. 21, 10119 Berlin Mitte
Opening Hours:
Friday, 11 September 2020, 6 – 10 pm
Saturday, 12 September 2020, 2 – 10 pm
Sunday, 13 September 2020, 2 – 7 pm
Exhibition Programme
Friday, 11 September 2020
6 pm – Artist Talk and Q&A – (Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin & Jaqueline Nsiah) – ACUD backyard
A conversation between Jacqueline Nsiah as the moderator and Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin, which will lead into a Q&A with the audience and an official opening of the exhibition. Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin will join the conversation online from Accra.
Jacqueline Nsiah is a freelance film festival and arts & culture consultant. Her ten years’ experience of working with film festivals across the world in various capacities, includes the positions as co-director for the Cambridge African Film Festival in 2008, Producer of the Real Life Documentary Film Festival in Accra, Assistant Producer of the Rio International Film Festival and Guest Manager in the Panorama Section of the Berlin International Film Festival. Other past positions include co-director and curator of the African film festival, UHURU, in Rio de Janeiro, and Programmer for Film Africa London. Nsiah is the current programme director at the Africa Film Society, Ghana, works as a project manager on an African industry film platform for the Goethe Institut and a curator for the section Forum-Berlinale. She holds a MA in Visual and Media Anthropology from the Free University in Berlin and a BA in African Studies and Politics from SOAS. Jacqueline Nsiah has recently published her MA final thesis titled “Returning From Exile”, a research project on the return of Ghanaian diaspora to Ghana.
There are 20 seats available for the Artist Talk. Please write to collective.practices@acudmachtneu.de to reserve a seat.
7 – 10 pm Music and Food – Max Fish outdoor bar in front of ACUD
Food and music or sound are ways we continue exchange and interaction as a people, and are a part of the exhibition concept. We invite visitors to eat together and listen to music, before or after the exhibition visit. A West African meal will be available at affordable prices.
7 – 9 pm DJ Set: mokeyanju
mokeyanju is a passionate dancer, writer, radio host (YAASAA) and vinyl-selector. mokeyanju plays sets which translates her personal journey in music. Her versatile style covers ranges from jazz-infused afrobeat, deep house, disco vibes to dilla-inspired hip hop beats, cathartic gqom and wavy afro-fusion sounds. She has played memorable sets in uncommon corners of the world and will provide some polyrhythmic gems from West-Africa’s golden era of highlife, fuji and percussive afrobeat.
Saturday, 12 September 2020
6 – 10 pm Music and Food – Max Fish outdoor bar in front of ACUD
Food and music or sound are ways we continue exchange and interaction as a people, and are a part of the exhibition concept. We invite visitors to eat together and listen to music, before or after the exhibition visit. A West African meal will be available at affordable prices.
7 – 9 pm DJ Set: Radio Hobo
Radio Hobo is a classic vinyl-only DJ and 1/2 of the radio show “RRYTM” on THF Radio. His vinyl-only sets are mostly packed with tropical sounds from the 60s-80s and brought him from Berlin to Rotterdam to Cape Verde Islands, from Bruxelles to Bamako, Mali. For this evening he curated some special tropical treats, from classic Afrobeat to Ghanaian Highlife to Nigerian Afro-Disco. Everything what you need for a tropical escapism.
