Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art

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courtesy Chazen Museum of Art

A person standing beside an art work.

Margaret Nagawa, curator of "Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art," is seen with work by Péju Alatise.

This vibrant show, guest-curated by Ugandan artist Margaret Nagawa (a doctoral student in art history at Emory University), showcases the contemporary African art that has been added to the Chazen’s permanent collection thanks to an initiative funded by the Straus Family Foundation. Nagawa organizes the exhibit in relationship to the body, its presence or absence in the work of art. Find reservation links for guided tours (next up: noon on Dec. 10) and related events at chazen.wisc.edu.

media release: Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection presents forty-five works of sculpture, painting, ceramics, printmaking, and photography by twenty-four contemporary artists living and working on the African continent and in the diaspora. The work comprises new acquisitions made possible by a significant five-year gift from the Straus Family Foundation. Insistent Presence examines how artists have reimagined the human figure as a lens to pose questions about social and political histories, contested identities, and the possible future of how we relate to one another. The exhibition title was inspired by renowned African art scholars and curators Okwui Enwezor and Chika Okeke-Agulu. These scholars point to the enduring usefulness of depicting the human figure for artists keen on affirming the humanity of Africans and those critical of postcolonial governments. In this exhibition, artists provocatively explore the human body through juxtapositions of those political concerns with emotions and passions of everyday lived experiences.

The exhibition and its accompanying publication are organized into three discrete sections along the notions of the presence and absence of the human body. The first section, “The Body in Society,” explores how identity is shaped through isolation, proximity, and interaction among figures depicted in groups or individually. These artists are concerned with the human form as an avenue for expressing the intersections and ruptures between privately and socially constructed identities. The second section, “The Artist Is Present,” examines artists’ production strategies of using their own bodies as the primary medium. These artists share their personal histories through theatrical performances, photography, and sculpture.  Works in the final section, “The Absent Body,” remain resolutely non-figurative. Accessories and accouterments prompt the viewer to form a mental image of the body. Each section in Insistent Presence highlights twenty-first-century ways of being in the world and invites us to reflect on ourselves, our relationships, and the worlds we inhabit. The works expand the museum’s permanent collection while also strengthening the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s collaborative relationships with living artists and contemporary organizations on the African continent.

related events:

Oct. 11, 12:30 pm, The Family Album on Display: In connection with Insistent Presence, scholar and curator Serubiri Moses explores the family album as a discursive, self-reflexive form that connects to personal and political stories of both celebration and trauma. Register here.

OCT 21, 12:30–2 p.m.,  Art•Spin! Insistent Presence: Drop in for hands-on art activities, a scavenger hunt, and fun for kids of all ages.

Nov. 9, 5–7 p.m. Dr. Giulia Paoletti speaks on Photography, An Art of Relation: Histories from Senegal, an Insistent Presence talk exploring the work of Ibrahima Thiam, Serigne Ndiaye, and Malick Welli. A reception follows (register here).

Nov. 10: Curator conversation with Margaret Nagawa, 10 am or 4 pm (register here).