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Harbour in Douala
Present Perfect
21 March – 4 April 2010: Orientationtrip and Series of Events, Cameroon
Organised by: Annette Schemmel and Marjolijn Dijkman
Hosted by: Artbakery in Bonendale and K-Factory in New Bell, Douala
Supported by: The Mondriaan Foundation
This orientation trip to Douala by the artists Marjolijn Dijkman and Maarten Vanden Eynde and curator Annette Schemmel is meant as preparation for future collaborations with Cameroonian artists and writers. After a long prelude of conversations in Europe, we are travelling to Douala and Bonendale in March 2010 in order to further develop our project on site.
Travelling Dates: Marjolijn and Maarten 22 March – 5 April, Annette: 25 March – 31 March
Accomodation: 22 - 26 March in Douala, 27- 28 March in Bonendale, 29 March -5 April in Douala.
With artists from Douala and beyond we plan to see and show art works, exchange ideas about each others’ practice and explore potential contexts, content and locations for a joined exhibition in Germany, a possible participation in the SUD 2010 (with a focus on the harbour) and other collaborations that might come up.
With two video screenings we further plan to address the notions of memory and history and artistic possibilities to engage in their negotiation, especially with regard to the „cinquantenaire“, the 50th anniversary of the oppressive regime in Cameroun and the celebrations related to it in 2010.
A first screening will take place at Art Bakery in Bonendale on Saturday march 27, a second will be hosted by Cercle Kapsiki in New Bell/Douala on Monday or Tuesday 29.3 or 30.3. Art epistemologist Lionel Manga and artist/curator Ruth Belinga will help us to moderate the discussion. Among the works presented are 'Nostalgia' by Omer Fast and “Desire in Representation” by Peggy Buth.
We are also curious how contemporary art is produced and presented in Douala. What are the working and living conditions for artists and how do they manage to professionalize in the absence of art academies as we know it? Who is educating who and what knowledge is being transferred? How do people access a work of art, predominantly by seeing it, by reading about it, by being told about it or by getting involved in it?
