African art can be seen all around us in modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, created by artists native and indigenous to Africa. These artists’ work is very creative and shares the powerful history of Africa. All these pieces share the trademark elements found in African art, that is, artistic creativity, the human depicted as the central figure and a leaning towards the abstract rather than naturalistic. This art is vibrant, emotive, and rich in cultural heritage.
However, it is sad to think that when people think of the words “African” and “Art” together, the images recalled are red clay paintings on bush rocks or beaded arts and crafts sold at tourist resorts. It is doubtful that people even consider the fact that art with firm rooting in African culture and heritage is making a ground-breaking difference in the world and giving voice to a variety of topics including politics, identity, and social change. But that is exactly what is happening. A variety of contemporary artists of the 21st century are making use of African inspired designs, colours and textiles to speak out and make a change not only in Africa but globally. But before we look at these ground-breaking artists who are leading the way in carving out a space for African heritage in 21st contemporary art, we need to first define what contemporary art is.
Contemporary Art: it’s Not Modern
There has been much debate in the art world as to whether Modern art and Contemporary art are the same thing, especially as the two are often used interchangeably in some art circles. But after much thorough research it gradually becomes clear that there is a stark difference between the two art forms.
Contemporary art tends to be self-referential, and addresses themes such as migration, racism, technology, and politics. It reflects the beliefs, culture, and identity of the artist whereas Modern art focuses more on the art itself rather than its influence. Furthermore, whilst Modern art remains firmly grounded upon the canvas Contemporary art makes use of a diverse forms of material from cloth, to bottle caps, to digital media to convey its messages and themes.
Contemporary Art in Africa
Contemporary art is not native to the West, if we look back in time we will find that history holds the names of African artists who made use of contemporary art to maintain a hold on their cultural identity and freedom of expression whilst living under the constraints of colonialism. The forefathers of African contemporary art include, Kenneth Baker (South Africa, 1926 -1988) Ben Enwonu (Nigeria, 1917-1994) and Dr Grace Salome Abra Khumalo ( Ghana, 1935-2006) and Nicholas Mukomberanwa (Zimbabwe, 1940 -2000) to name a few.
Some of these artists travelled abroad to study and learn skills and technique from Western art but often returned home to share their newly acquired knowledge and influences and moulded them into work that would carry their African identity forward. It is thanks to these forefathers that Contemporary art has a place in African art and that the two forms can fit together. They are also why we are seeing an increase in Contemporary African art in the 21st century.
African Art in the 21st Century
The African contemporary forefathers are not the only ones who were influenced by the Contemporary art movement’s strong emphasis on creating work that reflects the artist’s ideas, culture, beliefs, and experiences. Artists today both native and indigenous to Africa, are making use of this art form to spark challenging dialogue in and about Africa and to change the voice of the African narrative. One such artist is the Zimbabwean Kudzanai Chiurai.
Chiurai makes use of a variety of media including paint, printing, film and digital photogrpahy to challenge issues and topics arising in Southern Africa from displacement, xenophobia to government corruption. His compositions are raw and candid and don’t shy away from speaking the truth he sees and the effect these have had on all its people socially, culturally and politically.
Another artist making a name for Africa with his work is the Tanzanian born, David Adjaye. An architect, his goal is to encourage the world to sincerely regard the possibility of architectural innovation in Africa. Many of his projects do this by showing a strong awareness of local culture and drawing on West African textile designs. His most recent project the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is still in the process of being constructed but also draws on African influences, its form being similar to those made in Yoruba craft and its façade being covered in bronze.
The French visual artist and paint performer Doline Legrand Diop has also made great use of African elements in her work. Despite not being native to Africa Diop’s work is centred on portraits, masks and bright backgrounds that draw heavily on traditional African designs, and she strives to represent Africa in a modern and progressive way through her work. Through her work and her brand ‘Design by do’ (fashion, decoration, graphic design and painting) she aims to express the emotions she has felt during her time in Africa whilst also showing the wealth of heritage, culture and modernity that Africa has to offer.
Kay Media Africa and Contemporary African Art
The championing of Africa in contemporary art does not end with the afore mentioned artists, though. We too as a company have made it our directive to channel the African identity, culture and philosophy in our client work. This can be witnessed not only in our logo which draws on the warm colours and inclusive designs that characterize African art, but in our music and creative productions as well which draw inspiration from local artists and other African musicians in both the arrangement, melodies and rhythm.
Furthermore, with our most recent DigiPoems project there was a distinct African leaning in the interpretation of the poems we were given to visually represent. During the animation and musical production process we ensured that what we depicted celebrated African blackness and identity as creatively and accurately as possible. But our inclusion of African identity and elements does not end with local client work. When approached by the United Nations Development Programme and commissioned to create video content for their seventeen sustainable Development Goals we did not shy away from once again including aspects of Africa in the footage. With each of the seventeen two-minute videos containing a Chevron banner inspired by the stone work of Great Zimbabwe.
As you can see Kay Media Africa aims to be a brand that resonates with all elements of being African and for us this means creating work that is simple, clear, creative and effectively tells the audience a story about Africa; which is exactly what some contemporary artists are doing today.