From 22 to 24 October, international artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners will gather in Bayreuth to reflect on the worlds we inherit, the worlds we leave behind, and the worlds we seek to create together. African Feminisms Gathering opens a space for dialogue on artistic practices, social transformation, and the significance of feminist perspectives for memory and future-making. African feminisms offer diverse perspectives on art, history, and society. As artistic, scholarly, and social practices, they challenge established systems of knowledge, make different experiences visible, and enable new connections between past, present, and future.
One highlight of the opening evening on 22 October will be the Okwui Enwezor Distinguished Lecture by Kenyan artist Syowia Kyambi. On the same evening, the exhibition Beyond the Sweet and Obvious: African Feminisms Refracted, curated by Prof. Dr. Natasha A. Kelly, will open and remain on view at the Iwalewahaus until 15 February 2027. The accompanying public programme will continue throughout the winter semester.
The exhibition takes as its point of departure Nigerian artist Colette Omogbai’s 1965 call for a “new way of seeing art.” African feminisms serve as the lens through which the collection and its history are re-examined. Historical works, contemporary artistic positions, archival materials, and Black diasporic histories enter into new relationships with one another. In doing so, the exhibition raises questions about whose art and knowledge become visible, how history is remembered, and who participates in shaping its interpretation.
“African feminisms offer a new perspective on the Iwalewahaus collection and its history. This approach challenges familiar categories, brings previously overlooked perspectives into view, and creates new connections between art, memory, and knowledge. In doing so, it also transforms our understanding of what a collection can be: a living space for research, exchange, and the collaborative production of knowledge,” explains Prof. Dr. Natasha A. Kelly, Professor of Global African Arts and Academic Director of the Iwalewahaus.
With its collection of modern and contemporary art from Africa and transnational artistic contexts, its archives, and its close connection to African Studies at the University of Bayreuth, the Iwalewahaus provides a unique starting point for this dialogue. African Feminisms: Refractions connects this institutional history with contemporary artistic and scholarly perspectives, strengthening exchange between Africa, the African diaspora, and Bayreuth.
