Curator Simon Njami calls on jazz legend Miles Davis to unite the Middle East with Africa at Abu Dhabi Art
Abu Dhabi Art has returned in physical form this year after being held as a virtual event in 2020. The fair has called upon distinguished curator, Simon Njami, to work closely with a number of galleries for the exhibition he has titled ‘Kind of Blue’; a show which draws connections between artists through the language of music. “‘Kind of Blue’ is a jazz masterpiece by Miles Davis. It was recorded as an improvised partiture,” Njami tells Nataal. “What interested me was the notion of improvisation that is always set as a dialogue between virtuosi musicians. The individuals gathered perform something that is bigger and wider than them.”
Njami has dedicated his career to challenging notions of contemporary Africanism and showing African artists’ work on an international stage. By using the open-ended concepts behind jazz to create a new curatorial framework, Njami proves that the African collective is stronger than singular expression. “Jazz music is an example of the way something rooted in Africa can become universal. It is a metaphor for the way I see African contemporary creation,” the Lausanne-born curator explains. “I am always interested in showcasing African contemporary art and for this year’s edition of Abu Dhabi Art, the African artists I selected have unique techniques and ways of addressing contemporary issues. They also come from various locations, not just mainland Africa.”
Njami’s expertise has been mobilised in Abu Dhabi to try and address the curatorial gap that is present between the Middle East and Africa, as a way to invite new dialogue and bridge the physical difference through artworks. “People from the region might discover that issues African artists are dealing with are not that far from theirs, starting with identity in a global space,” he explains. “If we talk to people around the world, they will all have an idea of Africa. Most of those ideas are made out of preconceived perceptions. I want to confront people with the material and conceptual reality of the African production.”
“I want to confront people with the material and conceptual reality of the African production”
The selection for the show was judged by each artist's ability to depict diverse and unique stories. “Bill Bidjocka questions myths, ancient and modern; Joel Andrianomearisoa is dealing with nostalgia in a poetic manner; Abdoulaye Konate is revamping ancient traditions; and Richard Atugonza questions identity,” Njami says. The amalgamation of ideas under one setting produces a melodious polyphony, proving that the groundwork that underpins this exhibition speaks toward a much larger global calling; harmony can be harnessed through unity.
Njami’s distinctions as an essayist, curator, writer, lecturer and art critic have shaped the current discourse on contemporary Africanism across the globe. They span from biographies of American novelist and activist James Baldwin and Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist Léopold Sédar Senghor, to being the co-founder of journal Revue Noire, for African and extra-occidental art. As well as curating notable exhibitions such as ‘The Divine Comedy – Heaven, Hell, Purgatory by Contemporary African Artists’ at MMK and ‘I've been abducted hundreds of times’, a solo show by Gosha Ostretsov at the Venice Biennale. The inclusion of Njami as a guest curator emphasises Abu Dhabi Art’s mission of providing a strong engagement programme for the public of which ‘Kind of Blue’ is at its heart.
Abu Dhabi Art runs until 21 November 2021 at Manarat Al Saadiyat