House Of African Art
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House Of African Art
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Arts & Culture
Words By: Luc Hinson
Artwork: Contributing HAART artists
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We sat down with Maryam Lawal, founder of the House of African Art ahead of HAART’s inaugural exhibition this March. Maryam talked us through why she felt the need to set up HAART, how the platform aims to nurture artists of African descent and what we can expect from the upcoming event. The exhibition will be open from Thursday 21st until Tuesday 26th, and more details can be found on HAART’s site below.
https://www.houseofafricanart.com/
BB: Maryam, why did you decide to set up the House of African Art?
I have always had a long-standing personal interest in art. Throughout my time at school and secondary school I would do a lot paintings and drawings and I remember having some of my artwork hanging up around school buildings. However my professional career took a different turn and I ended up studying law at university and training towards practicing as a lawyer. However in my free time, for as long as I can remember really, I’ve sought to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the art world by frequently going to art galleries, exhibitions and art fairs, whether that’s here in London, or in New York or in Lagos in Nigeria, where I am originally from.
There are a number of reasons why I decided to set up HAART. Artists from Africa and the diaspora are still largely underrepresented on an international level. One of the main aims of HAART is to provide a platform for the truly talented, forward-thinking artists of African descent by giving them greater exposure, recognition and support for their work.
Secondly, I think that the traditional art gallery experience is out of date and in need of a revival. HAART aims to break away from the traditional gallery model by having pop-up exhibitions and events in which people properly engage with the artwork, understand the pieces and where possible, feel a part of the artistic process. Drawing on the concept of a house, HAART aims to create a welcoming, interactive environment in contrast to what can at times be perceived as pretence or elitism in the art world.
BB: Tell us a bit about the art you showcase at HAART?
I think when a lot of people hear the term “African art” there are still outdated images that immediately come to mind like tribal masks or a painting of a mother and a child holding calabash bowls on their heads. One of the main aims of HAART is to break away from long-held stereotypes of what “African art” means or is limited to. As part of that, HAART aims to showcase the truly bold, striking and cutting edge work which artists of African origin are producing and thereby dispel any limiting connotations which currently exist in the public consciousness.
BB: What do you hope to stimulate through showing this art?
I hope that showing this type of art will help to challenge long-held stereotypes, generate fresh, new perspectives on artistic talent coming from the continent and also over time, lead to greater interest, attention and investment in the arts
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"One of the main aims of HAART is to provide a platform for the truly talented, forward-thinking artists of African descent by giving them greater exposure, recognition and support for their work."
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"HAART aims to create a welcoming, interactive environment in contrast to what can at times be perceived as pretence or elitism in the art world."
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BB: How do you think we can best combat cultural appropriation in the arts?
I think this is a really tricky subject and it’s certainly not one where there are easy solutions to the issues. On the topic of cultural appropriation, you’ll find some people who argue that we all take from or “appropriate” parts of each others culture – however small – particularly in the age of globalisation as different cultures become more and more intertwined.
On the other hand I think that there are obvious cases where traditional cultural practices, music, fashion and so on are completely taken out of their original context and either trivialised or exploited. I think that the main way of combatting this type of behaviour is to really expose it as and when it’s happening and not just allow it to go on without speaking up. In my opinion, that’s the best way of sending out a clear message that it’s not okay and it stops other people from thinking that they can also do it.
BB: What was the impetus behind the launch? Why did you choose 2019?
I actually had the idea to set up an art platform about 3-4 years ago, but I didn’t take it further at the time. Then on my trip to Lagos, Nigeria in April 2018 the idea came to again. I was going around the galleries, speaking to gallerists and just appreciating the latest artwork being exhibited as I usually do and I thought to myself that it would be amazing to showcase some of the work that I was seeing out there abroad. In relation to the timing, over the past few years, particularly with the growth of art fairs like the 1-54 Contemporary African Art fair and Art X in Lagos - people have started to begin truly appreciating the artistic talent coming from the continent. However in my opinion, more work still needs to be done to give artists of African origin the same level of recognition and support as artists from other regions. Now is as good a time as ever to do that.
BB: What can we expect from the upcoming launch?
HAART is a platform which has the visual arts as its centre, but which also incorporates other art forms like music, poetry, talks and live performances. The launch will give people a taste of exactly that. So on the main opening day on Thursday 21 March we’ll open from 10am until 6pm for artwork previews, and then in the evening there will be artist talks, music and I will give a welcome speech to introduce the platform. On Friday 22 and Saturday 23 March, again, we’ll open as a gallery during the daytime, with a spoken word performance and music in the evening on Friday and the final DJ set will be on Saturday evening. Then from Sunday through until Tuesday 26 March we’ll operate as a regular gallery, so people can come and see the artwork and find out more about any pieces they are interested in.
BB: Can you give us a preview of any of the artists that will be on show?
Sure. One of the artists that’ll be in the show is a young, up-and-coming Nigerian multimedia artist called Emmanuel Unaji. Emmanuel combines painting, collage, drawing and fashion design to produce some really rebellious, interersting pieces of work that frequently reference popular culture. Here are some of his previous works:
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Emmanuel is in the process of producing new works for the show. He recently sent me pictures of some of the works-in-progress and all I will say is that you don’t want to miss out – they are incredible!
BB: What do you want attendees of the launch to come away with?
HAART is about delivering art as an experience. I think the traditional art gallery model where you walk into a space and just look at pieces blankly on large walls, with little to no interaction with the gallerist or the artist who made the works is out of date and the opposite of what my platform stands for. I want people to truly engage with the artwork, feel that they can understand it or freely ask questions if they don’t. This is one of the reasons why there will be music at the evening events. Everyone loves a good tune and it’s a natural ice breaker! I want people to come away from the launch feeling like they learnt something new – whether that’s about a new artist they hadn’t heard of before or artistic practice or the messaging behind a piece of work - and also to enjoy themselves in the process.
BB: What are your hopes for HAART in 2019 and beyond?
After the launch in March, we are planning another exciting event in London towards the end of 2019. The next event will be in a completely new space, exploring a different theme and bodies of artwork. You can keep up to date with the final details of this event and what we’re up to by following us on Instragram at: @houseofafricanart or by subscribing to the HAART mailing list through the website: www.houseofafricanart.com. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at the launch in a few weeks time!
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Instagram: @houseofafricanart
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Words By: Luc Hinson, 26th February 2019
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CONTEMPORARY CONVERSATIONS
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