Abstract
In this paper, I will focus on two distinct periods of displaying the collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa at Iwalewahaus, a museum that is part of the University of Bayreuth in southeastern Germany.[1] It was created in 1981 by Ulli Beier (1922–2011) as part of the Africa focus mission of the University of Bayreuth. Beier was a German curator, art patron, collector, and literary critic. He grew up in Pomerania, and later in exile in Palestine as the child of a Jewish father. His family background was an intellectual one; his father collected artworks of German impressionists and he was introduced to art history by visiting museums in Berlin. After having been imprisoned by the British in Palestine towards the end of World War II, Beier went to London to study phonetics. Later, he found a job announcement for the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and went to the place that would become home for him.
Highlights
In this paper, I will focus on two distinct periods of displaying the collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa at Iwalewahaus, a museum that is part of the University of Bayreuth in southeastern Germany.[1]
The institution hosts a rich collection of modern art that is reflective of the African Modernisms—a period that can roughly be framed from the early twentieth century until the late 1970s
How can a German collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa be critically interrogated and opened up for a non-Eurocentric exhibition-making without falling into the trap of reproducing dominant narratives on African arts— both modern and contemporary—that are mainly produced in the institutional contexts of the Global North? This is important, in particular, because the discourse of African modern and contemporary art has been shaped by the imposition of modernity in the African continent that is in turn connected to the colonial experience.[4]
Summary
I will focus on two distinct periods of displaying the collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa at Iwalewahaus, a museum that is part of the University of Bayreuth in southeastern Germany.[1]. How can a German collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa be critically interrogated and opened up for a non-Eurocentric exhibition-making without falling into the trap of reproducing dominant narratives on African arts— both modern and contemporary—that are mainly produced in the institutional contexts of the Global North?
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