"When We See Us": Everyday Blackness with Okra Collective
Thursday, September 5, 6–9 p.m., Gegenwart, Costs: CHF 10/5, in English
Film screening and talk with the Okra Collective, including pop-up bar
The audiovisual production Everyday Blackness by Okra, a collective of Black multidisciplinary artists, is a mesmerizing combination of sounds, voices and polyrhythmic music. Inspired by the exhibition When We See Us, the video work was developed especially for the opening Saturday of the exhibition in Basel, and will be presented again on the extended Thursday evening at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart.
Based on a joint residency with Anti-Mass, a collective and label from Kampala/Uganda, Everyday Blackness is an attempt to bring conversations, sounds and images of everyday life of specifically black subjectivity into a form. Katie Omole and Glenn Akwasi, members of the collective, emphasize that the collaborative process was about consciously evading permanent attention and surveillance in public space: the new production is “coming from the point that we never have rest” and from the desire to "just exist". The images created for Everyday Blackness tell of collective experiences and Black subjectivity from an Afro-diasporic perspective, without being oriented towards fixed terms or conditions.
On September 5, Okra members Katie Omole, Anouchka Gwen, FONCÉ, Glenn Akwasi and Abdulmalik Abdi will host a collaborative evening where visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the artistic process and narratives of Everyday Blackness through conversation and insight. Including a screening of Everyday Blackness.
The exhibition When We See Us is open and freely accessible during the extended Thursday evenings at Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart from 6 to 9 pm.
On the first Thursday evening of every month, Studio Gegenwart will host a screening of the exhibition When We See Us. One Hundred Years of Pan-African Figurative Painting, special musical, performative, discursive and participatory programs take place in the Studio Gegenwart. With local and international guests.
August
STUDIO GEGENWART
15:00–17:00
A Light Lyricism. Reading Group and Literary Companion to "When We See Us"
With Sindi-Leigh McBride (researcher and writer) and guests
In six public reading group sessions, we work through a selection of texts by James Baldwin, Ken Bugul, Teju Cole, Akwaeke Emezi, Bernardine Evaristo, Andrea Lee, Maaza Men, Kwame McPherson, Johny Pitts, Koleka Putuma, Zadie Smith, and Brandon Taylor. All texts will be made available to participants in advance. Age: from 16 years. Admission is free, registration is required via ticket link.
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «When We See Us. Hundert Jahre panafrikanische figurative Malerei»
In German. Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 5.
CURATOR'S TOUR
GEGENWART
18:30–19:30
Kuratorinnenführung in der Ausstellung «When We See Us. Hundert Jahre panafrikanische figurative Malerei»
In German. Mit der Kuratorin Maja Wismer. Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 5.
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «When We See Us. Hundert Jahre panafrikanische figurative Malerei»
In German. Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 5.
WORKSHOP
STUDIO GEGENWART
11:00–17:00
Offenes Studio Gegenwart
We question our viewing habits! Through peepholes and self-made telescopes, we search the museum rooms and works of art for unusual patterns. Our sketches will be drawn and reproduced in the Studio Gegenwart to create a single work of art, a large tapestry of patterns. Open to all: families, friends, children, young people and adults are welcome. Free of charge without registration.
WORKSHOP
STUDIO GEGENWART
15:00–16:30
Dialogue Session: The Role of Art in Shaping Historical Narratives. With Marilyn Umurungi
This session introduces an intersectional, Afro-feminist lens on BIPOC groups and movements that have become essential in creating visibility for communities of the diaspora. Costs: CHF 5.
RENDEZ-VOUS AM MITTAG
GEGENWART
12:30–13:00
Rendez-vous am Mittag: «When We See Us»
In German. Mit der Kuratorin Maja Wismer. Kosten: Eintritt.
WORKSHOP
STUDIO GEGENWART
15:00–16:30
Dialogue Session: Storytelling Through Design. Mit Cherry-Ann Morgan
A practical workshop that invites audiences to tap into new narratives of design through culture and storytelling beyond dominant narratives. The interdisciplinary dialogue series aims to foster conversations that connect museum audiences with the diverse spectrum of Black and African diasporic perspectives in Swiss society. This series is curated by Keabetswe Boccomino (Afrinova). Limited number of participants. Costs: CHF 5.
September
CONVERSATION
STUDIO GEGENWART
11:15–12:45
Sunday Artist Talk
With Sungi Mlengeya (Dar es Salaam), Meleko Mokgosi (Massachusetts), Joy Labinjo (London)
Artists of the exhibition consider the function and significance of painting and art in the Pan-African context as well as the artistic and social challenges with which they currently see themselves confronted. Costs: CHF 10/5 (+ Optional: Entry CHF 13).
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
15:00–16:00
Guided tour of the exhibition «When We See Us. A Century of Black Figuration in Painting»
Costs: Admission + CHF 5.
STUDIO GEGENWART
18:00–21:00
Everyday Blackness
The Kunstmuseum Basel invites you to a joint evening with the OKRA Collective of Black multidisciplinary artists, with a performance of the new production “Everyday Blackness”. The performance will be framed by a discussion of the work. The video work by OKRA is a meditation on Black subjectivity consisting of poetry, dance, movement and music. Costs: CHF 10/5.
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «When We See Us. Hundert Jahre panafrikanische figurative Malerei»
In German. Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 5.
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
18:30–19:30
Guided tour of the exhibition «When We See Us. A Century of Black Figuration in Painting»
With the curator Daniel Kurjakovic. Costs: Admission + CHF 5.
GUIDED TOUR
GEGENWART
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «When We See Us. Hundert Jahre panafrikanische figurative Malerei»
In German. Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 5.
