By John Owoo

Theater Haus Berlin 

Germany

Togolese dancer / choreographer Kossi Sebastien Aholou-Wokawui stunned an enthusiastic audience during a magical performance at the ongoing Kuyum Tanzplatfform Festival.

Clad in a black jacket and matching trousers, his hands, shoulders, head and torso ripple and sway as he contemplates about the present and future of the earth, which is facing all kinds of turbulence. 

Titled “Die Frucht des Lebens”, he opened the show by systematically prying open bags full of sand, which he gradually pours on the stage signifying continuous damage to the earth. Frantic movements unfolded after all six bags of sand turned into a mound on the stage.

Accompanied by a dancer in phantom-like costume with his face completely covered, another bag of sand was gradually poured on Aholou-Wokawui, who exhibited a raucous non-stop laugh for several minutes. 

“Wound” – a dance ritual choreographed by Egyptian dancer Nora Amin made bold comments on the consequences of colonialism, wars and oppression by dictatorial regimes among others while offering a path to healing and reconciliation. 

Performed by Ehab Abdellatif and Amin, the piece centred around fast-moving texts on a huge screen as she comments on issues facing the world at large. Largely employing the use of her arms, she encouraged the audience to dip their fingers into a bowl of water as a sign of unity and healing. 

Staged under a huge tree with the audience gathered around the artists, “Equi Libre” commented on the current state of the world – upheavals, conflicts, hunger, inequalities, diseases and many others that are leading the earth into the brink of collapse.

Co-choreographed and performed by Yahi Nestor Gahé (Côte d’Ivoire) and Sanga Ouattara (Burkina Faso) alongside Ikyeon Park (Korea), the conversation between the three dancers was quite visual as they employed the tree, ropes and huge glass bulbs with tubes or the performance.

Inspired by the famous 19th Century Ghanaian warrior queen –  Nana Yaa Asantewa – Cintia Rangel (Brazil) and Doriane Mbenoun (Belgium) explored the rich and dynamic range of female voices, with a focus on the day-to-day activities of black women in a society dominated by exoticism, sexism and fascism.

A rather inspiring /cutting edge show that grabbed the attention of the audience, the two dancers moved in unison with their sleek bodies as sequences moved into each other with ease. Titled “Black Chroni-Queens”, it is gloriously uncomplicated and a deeply felt performance.   

Burkinabe dancer / choreographer Florent Sidnoma Nikiéma engaged an enthusiastic spectator in an open-air performance at the Theatre Haus. Using a huge tree as the focus of his performance and clad in a fire brigade uniform, he commented on revolts by populations owing to oppression. 

Based on a text by the Haitian writer Eugene Woodkend, he hung two human figures on the tree that signified summary executions alongside a discarded car tyre. In the process, he was engrossed by his message as slow, supple backflips, dramatic turns and acrobatic moves on the tyre charmed the crowd.

The festival is being sponsored by Hauptstadt Kultur Fonds and Theatre Haus Berlin with friendly support from HZT, Joliba, Berlin Mondiale and Tanz Fähig. Media partners include Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, Stadtkultur Berlin, Dinamix and www.artsghana.net. 

Pix – thabo thindi

By John Owoo

(In Berlin – Germany)

“Mutual Crossings” – a duet choreographed by Black Pearl proved to be a befitting opener for the 2024 edition of Kuyum Tanzplattform with its powerful message on the imbalance of diverse ecosystems. 

Performing at the Theater Haus Berlin, Fetish Priesta and Pearl employed subtle and galvanizing movements while harnessing music, which played a significant part of the show.   

With live musical gadgets on stage, which produced guttural sounds and melody, the two dancers moved in jerky synchronicity while fluorescent slides projected on screens behind them portrayed a planet that is beset with unsurmountable problems. 

In a solo performance, France based Burkinabe dancer / choreographer Jérôme Kabore presented an impressive, riveting and fresh piece titled “Les Ombres Qui Chantent”, that was characterized by high energy from beginning to the end. 

Rapid propelled movements whipped the air while questioning how we can re-enact the works by prominent African leaders such as Thomas Sankara, Aimé Césaire, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela and Léopold Sedar Senghor among others. 

With images zooming on the screen and music blaring out of loudspeakers, Kabore’s precarious moves uniquely reflected his politically tinged choreography, which has electrified audiences in Europe and Africa.

“Cash Baby” by Franco-Senegalese dancer Yvonne Sembene, who explored the historical and contemporary issues of black female identity and its relationship to money,  unpacked a performance that was both uplifting and emotional at the same time.

With cash scattered all over the stage, she expressed sensory movements that synchronised and projected an aura of internal power. This she made possible through an ambience that was uplifting while radiating emotions of tranquillity, hope and victory. 

“A House of Peace” by Tanzanian dancer / choregrapher Tadhi Alawi comprised projection of historcal photos of the Tanzanian capital and the positive / negative changes that have beset this city of five million inhabitants. 

Employing swift and subtle movements while criss crossing the stage, he was consumed by nostalgia as images of the city he has fallen in love with flashed on the screens revealing problems with governance and development. 

The festival is being sponsored by Hauptstadt Kultur Fonds and Theatre Haus Berlin with friendly support from HZT, Joliba, Berlin Mondiale and Tanz Fähig. Media partners include Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, Stadtkultur Berlin, Dinamix and www.artsghana.net. 

Pix – thabo thindi

By John Owoo

(In Berlin – Germany)

Kuyum Tanzplattform 2024 opened on Wednesday at the Theater Haus Berlin (Germany) with a cool performance by four musicians that heralded five days of varied dance performances, workshops, presentations and discussions. 

Percussionists Nii Ashitey Nsotse (Ghana), Paraya Diallo (Guinea) and Janos Crecelius (Germany) alongside balafonist Moussa Coulibaly (Burkina Faso) lighted up the stage with a histrionic fusion of diverse rhythms. 

The quartet sent the audience on a captivating musical journey through vibrant sounds of Africa that celebrated the diversity of African music as they weaved together traditional beats, contemporary grooves and innovative improvisations. 

Energy emanating from djembes,  doundouns, shakers and the balafon seamlessly flowed through the stage in a mesmerizing soundscape. Indeed, it was a sonic exploration that transported the audience to different parts of the Africa while leaving patrons enthralled by the power of music to unite diverse traditions.

Welcoming artists and other guests to the festival, the director of Kuyum Tanzplattform Felix Dompreh revealed that over thirty countries in Africa, Europe and South America will particpate in the 2024 edition, which will be largely held at the Theater Haus Berlin. 

He stated that the aim of the festival is to offer invited artists a platform on which they can present neo-African dance performances to a broader audience – indeed, free from the attributions and clichés that often lurk behind them.

Kuyum Tanzplattform aims at helping to outline and create new narratives concerning African dance as an effective art form capable of contributing to the development of dance in the freelance scene of Berlin and beyond.

It will equally empower dancers and choreographers of African descent and others to acquire and advance their understanding of “Neo African Dance Forms” through advanced training programs, seminars, workshops and an annual dance festival in Berlin. 

The festival is being sponsored by Hauptstadt Kultur Fonds and Theatre Haus Berlin with friendly support from HZT, Joliba, Berlin Mondiale and Tanz Fähig. Media partners include Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, Stadtkultur Berlin, Dinamix and www.artsghana.net.

By John Owoo

(In Kerava – Finland)

Abstract paintings of diverse sizes by Finnish artist Jukka Tapani Pesu are currently underway at Galleria Alli, which is located in the Finnish town of Kerava. 

Largely based on emotions, his works are purely abstract alongside an interplay of colours with elements of landscape but firmly based on sentiments as well as mood – which is gradually developed – often with the help of a relatively sparse palette knife.

Indeed, his works are deeply tied to his emotional expressions and natural influences. His paintings often blend abstract forms with subtle countryside topographies alongside muted color palettes that include earth tones like ochre, sienna and umber. 

Titled “Emotional Demolitions of the Archetype Self”, his artistic approach is one of constant learning, treating each painting as an evolving process where trial and error guide him to unique outcomes that capture and sustain the interest of viewers.

Partially trained at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Pesu, who does not necessarily paint nature is inspired by walks in forests, which are abundant in Finland – a trait that re-occurs in his work. 

Originally working with oil paints, Pesu, who now prefers acrylics for their faster drying time joined Kerava Artists Group in 1976 and has participated in its annual exhibitions for several years. In 1993, he exhibited his works in a solo show in Kerava and Oulainen.

Galleria Alli is located in a historic wooden villa built in 1914 by carpenter Karl Jacob Svensk. It has been preserved over the years and serves as an artistic hub. The gallery is operated by the local art association, KuumArt and has hosted exhibitions since 1990.

The venue is used for rotating exhibitions, often featuring local artists and is widely known for its cozy atmosphere and vibrant art scene.

By John Owoo

(In Helsinki – Finland)

A group exhibition featuring works from forty-nine artists drawn from the  Finnish National Gallery’s collection, is curently underway at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

Titled “Feels Like Home”, the exhibition reflects on the theme of home and belonging through contemporary art, while exposing the fact that belonging is linked to identity – indeed, to who we are and where we come from. 

Curated by Saara Hacklin, Satu Oksanen and Saara Karhunen, the featured artworks show that home can be a physical place, a community and / or a state of mind while reminding us that home can also be found in a language or culture.

Featured artists are Titta Aaltonen, Petri Ala-Maunus, Ahmed Al-Nawas, Farah Al Qasimi, Elina Brotherus, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Otto Byström, Samira Elagoz & Z Walsh, Veli Granö, Marjatta Hanhijoki, Mona Hatoum, Maarit Hohteri, Henna Hyvärinen, Joonas Hyvönen and Inka-Maaria Jurvanen. 

Others are Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Essi Kausalainen, Hertta Kiiski and Elle Klarskov Jørgensen, Jannis Kounellis, Mikko Kuorinki, Raakel Kuukka, Runo Lagomarsino, Jouni S. Laiti, Jouko Lehtola, Niina Lehtonen Braun, Henrietta Lehtonen, Susanna Majuri and Olof Marsja. 

The rest are Cildo Meireles, Anneli Nygren, Frida Orupabo, Kalervo Palsa, Anu Pennanen, Emma Peura, Jaakko Pietiläinen, Tiina Pyykkinen, Sepideh Rahaa, Bita Razavi, Jani Ruscica, Azar Saiyar, Anastasia Sosunova, Kaarlo Stauffer, Nestori Syrjälä, Lesia Vasylchenko, Danh Võ and Laura Wesamaa. 

Comprising paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs and installations, the exhibition equally shares experiences of how it feels when home is lost or far away, whether by choice or force of circumstance. Undeniably, war and exile can sever ties with loved ones and beloved places. 

The artists, singularly and collectively show that loss and longing can be passed down through generations. The artworks also reveal that individual experiences are intertwined with social change and broader historical events.

Notably, home and belonging are important topics of discussion in contemporary Finland. Many Finns are touched on a personal level by migrations and diasporic transitions. Finland has grown more diverse and Finnish artists now come from a growing variety of cultural backgrounds. 

Subjects of the artworks are as varied as the materials – indeed, the works are brought together so that a visitor would notice similarities and differences between them. Nevertheless, there are very little tensions, encounters or implusive snowballing effects.

The Finnish National Gallery’s contemporary art collection comprises around 8,800 works dating from the 1970s to date. Kiasma’s collection exhibitions are extensively curated displays that include newly acquired works within a broader historical context. 

Themes chosen for these exhibitions reflect the issues of the day and highlight latest developments within the arena of contemporary art. “Feels Like Home” is set to run throughout 2024 and will also shape Kiasma’s Theatre offering and the museum’s public programming. 

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

A group exhibition titled “Constellations 2: Figures in Webs and Ripples of Space” that enquires the notion of human interconnectedness and our place in trying to de-centre ourselves, is underway at Gallery 1957 in Accra. 

Co-curated by Nuna Adisenu-Doe, Tracy Naa Koshie Thompson and Katherine Finerty, the artists engage elements of African mythology to re-imagine worlds beyond the human – indeed, the rational, authentic, comprehensible and terrestrial. 

A sequel to “Constellations 1: Figures on Earth and Beyond”, the artists, singularly and collectively unite and seperate relations through an assemblage of machines, plants, religious / mythical objects, memorabilia and all forms of objects that connect and disconnect us. 

Furthermore, they present the open possibilities of a multispecies world where our being as humans is very much based on co-existence. However, one that does not automatically imply harmonious and peaceful relations, but rather a dialectical balance with the paradox of existential crisis. 

Participating artists inlude Clifford Bright Abu, Abdul-Salam Alhassan, Akosua Odeibea Amoah-Yeboah, Dela Anyah, Dzidzor Azaglo, Elolo Bosoka, Jasper Dafeamekpor, Rosemary Esinam Damalie, Victor Ehikhamenor, Samuel Baah Kortey, Rebekka Macht, Afrane Makof and Putin Ofori.

Others are Frederick Ebenezer Okai, Na Chainkua Reindorf, Ghizlane Sahli, Nyahan Tachie-Menson, Jonathan Okoronkwo, Lois Selasie Arde-Acquah, Phoebe Boswell, Adelaide Damoah, Denyse Gawu-Mensah, Henry Hussey, Sarah Meyohas and Lisa C. Soto. 

Through a spectacle of Earth and Heaven, Okai’s large scale installation of earthenware represents spiritual gateways in Ghanaian traditions. An apostle of ancestral wisdom, he often embarks on extensive journeys while delving into Ghanaian traditional repositories of knowledge.

Another earthen-toned portal opens within the space, which is the classic portico of ancient Ashanti architecture by Clifford Bright Abu. The artist reconstructs these structures into digital avatars of extinct architectural histories in contemporary surrealist landscapes. 

German artist Rebekka Macht, whose work relates to issues around gender and human connection,links us to the primal arrangement of the bond between a mother and child, which has historically grown as an archetype in theistic religions across the globe. 

It meritoriously weaves into the Catholic rosaries of Nigerian-American Victor Ehikhamenor, whose tapestries figuratively reconstruct the traditional authority figures of the Benin Kingdom. This, he achieves with  cheap massified rosaries, which subtly comment on the complexity of colonisation, capitalism and religion. 

Inspired by personal experiences and the exploration of West African folklore / religious cosmologies, paintings by Na Chainkua Reindorf on display touch on the contextual relation between women and textiles alongside encompassing African oral traditions. 

Photographs by  Elolo Bosoka, whose work engage with notions of art as a place, economic exchange, materiality and history, usurp us into being gazed by the unassuming presence of redundant objects in their spontaneous material compositions of colour. 

Afrane Makof’s practice, which explore the idea of augmentation and extensions between technological gadgets and humans, presents us with the burden of being bionic men and women. He keeps company with machines that estrange us or question our being as humans while confronting us with a reality in which we may digitally enslave ourselves to Artificial Intelligence. 

Undeniably, Constellations 2 distinctly re-examines the way we understand the place of humans in the world while challenging us into re-thinking ecology without essentialist narratives of ‘nature’. 

The exhibition ends on Thursday October 10, 2024. 

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

A unique exhibition that tackles the intricate interplay of culture, tradition, spirituality and art by Jojo Abdallah is underway at the National Museum in Accra.

Curated by Robin Riskin and presented by Compound House Gallery, Abdallah’s pieces often explore themes of psychological distress and healing while offering a raw and authentic glimpse into his personal experiences, which encompass paintings and mixed media.

Titled “Jojo Abdallah: Psy-Tech” – the exhibition equally features a remarkable video installation – where Abdallah admits to conversing with angels, which points to a poignant reflection of his supposed interaction with the supernatural.

Abdallah effectively blends popular culture with spiritual and psychological explorations, which provide a personal glimpse into his mind. Undeniably, his pieces often explore themes of psychological distress and healing while offering a raw and authentic peek into his personal experiences.

His paintings of psychiatric hospitals, traditional ceremonies, natural sciences and syncretic spiritualities render actual people, places and practices through fictional and frictional combinations in his works as he points to diverse narratives.

Indeed, his collection of “fantasy history paintings” tell stories of nation building, preservation of traditions, growth, beliefs, hope, revultion and healing. “Jojo Abdallah: Psy- Tech” has garnered attention not only for its artistic merit but also for its important commentary on mental health, a topic that is often stigmatized. Abdallah is a quantum traveller whose work portals to alternate universes.

Growing up in Accra and other realms, he studied arts and crafts at Ghana Secondary Technical School in Takoradi. However, he believes he studied Fine Art at the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Kumasi).

Riskin is a “curating-artist” who “makes more art out of art”. Her chimeric practice sits in the space between fact and fantasy, meaning and medium. Her work in abstract text, sound and social process is guided by artists’ voices and visions and reads singular subjects through their communities.

Compound House is an artist-run gallery dedicated to supporting and promoting the contemporary practices and projects of Ghanaian artists. Led by artists and produced by artists, it nurtures experimental exhibition-making through politically sensitive forms and content. The nomadic, networked project house creates infrastructure and programming for testing new strategies and off-grid interventions.

The exhibition ends on Sunday July 28, 2024.

By John Owoo

(In Acra – Ghana)

An exhibition of stills and production photographs from a 1971 film based on two classic novels – “Things Fall Apart” and “No Longer at Ease” by Chinua Achebe – is currently underway at the Museum of Science and Technology (MST) in Accra.

Curated by Akinbode Akinbiyi and Gisela Kayser, images on display that were shot by South African photographer Stephen Goldblatt aptly leave viewers, who have read the books with reminiscence as they go through these large format stills, which are accompanied by highly descriptive captions.  

Captions include “Enoch dares to unmask and Egwugwu during an annual Ceremony to honour the earth Deity”, “Obi and the Market Women”, “Okonkwo, the Tragic Hero”, “Okonkwo in a Wrestling Match”, “Village Scene”, “He is not Here”, we can take you to where he is” and “Okonkwo and his friend Obierika in the village” among others.

A highly successful novel, which became the staple in literature studies, “Things Fall Apart” is smartly written and is noted for its layered technique of story telling where subtle repetitions settle the narrative in the minds of readers as the story unfolds.

It equally shows photos of the film’s director Hans Jurgen Pohland alongside executive producers Wolf Schmidt, Francis Pladade and the late writer Chinua Achebe as well as images that reveal the collaboration between Germans, Nigerians and Americans in the production of the film.

The film, which is set in Igbo land (South-Eastern Nigeria) but filmed in Ibadan (South-Western Nigeria), presents the story of conflict between three generations of Nigerians coming to terms with colonialism. Indeed, it is an investigation into the causes and foundations of white-black conflicts or causes of racial strife and tensions.

Undeniably, the film “Things Fall Apart” is one of the earliest cinematic attempts of aesthetic post-colonial deconstruction of Nigerian and indeed African cinema – and the book “Things Fall Apart”, eventually won the Man Booker International Prize in Literature.

Furthermore, the film explores themes of community breakdowns owing to the polarization of villagers by white missionaries alongside issues relating to tradition and change while employing the use of persuasive speech to dispel popular misconceptions on tribal culture.

Goethe-Institut is supporting the exhibition, which was opened by Dr. Malik Saako of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. It ends on Wednesday June 5, 2024.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

An exhibition of paintings by Ghanaian academic Dr. Joseph Oduro-Frimpong inspired by the confident motifs of African masks and irreverent styles of Ghanaian roadside art are currently on display at the Goethe-Institut in Accra.

Comprising large scale works realized through black monochromatic style, Frimpong explored subjective and varied beauty aesthetics that showcase day to day scenes and non-acknowledged practices from diverse locations on the African continent.

These works draw motivation from diverse sources such as barbershop signs, popular fashion trends, Igbo Insibidi visual sign language, Congolese Mangbetu head alteration practices, metal design works and lip disc modification practice associated with the Mursi / Mun ethnic groups of Ethiopia.

Frimpong, who is the founder and director of the Centre for African Popular Culture (CAPC) at the Ashesi University in Berekuso (Ghana), equally explores diverse African artistic traditions while aiming at initiating deliberations that encourage positive (re-)evaluations around cultural practices.

Indeed, his expressive and stylized forms, which are highly exemplified in this monochrome works, forcefully evoke the collective dynamism of aspects of popular culture in Africa while grabbing and sustaining the interest of viewers.

A cultural anthropologist, Frimpong has collected many artefacts and pieces over the past decade. Indeed, CAPC represents a long-held passion for ensuring that African Popular Culture is better documented and taught.

CAPC collections include hand-painted movie posters that captured audiences for Accra’s cinema industry in the 1990s to miniature xylophones crafted in the Northern Region of Ghana. Undeniably, its current collection represents the diversity in African popular culture conversation. 

The exhibition, which is being supported by Goethe-Institut ends on Friday June 7, 2024.

By John Owoo

(In Accra – Ghana)

An exhibition of paintings by Kelvin Haizel that appropriate aesthetics largely inspired from paint shops in Accra and beyond, is currently on show at Gallery 1957 in Accra.

Titled “We Do Not Sleep to Dream”, Haizel effectively engages with theoretical aesthetics that emerge from diverse conductive processes, while borrowing from paint shop environments, wherein different surfaces exist as swatch board for paint samples.

Consequently – the paintings propose an operational vista where touch, vision and interpretation among others converge – thereby inviting audiences to engage with the multiple layers of meaning beyond the customary confines of abstractions.

Curated by Ato Annan, the artist employs complex forms / shapes as he applies a plethora of colours to the canvasses, which tend to be somewhat agitative and acquisitive while being permeated with a life-force of empirical analysis.

Haizel obscures surfaces by incorporating encoded textual interventions in Braille onto the surfaces of some works thereby creating a collocation of tactile and visual markers as he invites touch-accessible language and random fictionalized textures.

Without doubt, the title advances numerous propositions and questions. Indeed, he interrogates dream in its diverse forms including dreams while one is fully awake and asleep. He propounds that dreams occur in an active state with dreamers fully aware of their environs.

Currently a doctoral candidate at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Kumasi), Haizel is actively committed to understanding the image via received notions of the expanded field of the photographical alongside experiments in image that extend beyond the visual to include sonic and haptic forms.

His installation titled “Things and Nothings” was showed at the 11th edition of Rencontres de Bamako (Mali) and participated in “Orderly Disorderly” exhibition (2017), organized by blaxTARLINES KUMASI at the Museum of Science and Technology in Accra.  In the same year, he served as guest curator to the inaugural Lagos Biennale.

A winner of a prize for young contemporary photography “A New Gaze 2” presented by Vontobel Art Commission (Switzerland, 2018), he had his multi-sensorial solo exhibition in Zurich with an extension shown in the Stellenbosch Triennial (South Africa) in 2020 and a select few also exhibited at the Museum Belvédère as part of the 27th Nooderlicht Photo Festival “Generation Z” in 2020.

His work was equally shown in the exhibition “This Is Not Africa: Unlearn What You Have Learned” which opened at the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (Denmark) in 2021 and was in residency at the MARKK Museum (Germany), where he developed work from their photographic archive towards the Hamburg Photography Triennial in 2022. 

The exhibition ends on Thursday March 28, 2024.