Now open at Tate Modern, A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography celebrates the dynamic landscape of photography across the African continent today.
Featuring work by 36 artists from different generations and geographies, the exhibition explores how, through photography and video, artists examine past legacies and reimagine Africa’s place in the world “looking ahead to more hopeful futures”.
Since the invention of photography in the 19th century, Africa has been broadly defined by Western images of its cultures and traditions. During the colonial period, it was used as a tool to construct the representation of African societies through a Eurocentric lens.
In this exhibition, these dominant images of the African continent are challenged, and alternative visions of Africa’s many histories, cultures and identities are presented. From regal portraits to otherworldly landscapes – a number highlighting the growing impact of the climate emergency – the exhibition showcases how photography allows the past and future to co-exist.
Anticolonial resistance and political revolt, globalisation, shape shifting between the spiritual and physical world and the rise of studio photography during the mid-20th century are amongst the themes explored in the exhibition, through work by artists including George Osodi, Khadija Saye, James Barnor, Julianknxx and more.
And inspired by the ethos of A World in Common, London-based designer and photographer Ronan Mckenzie has created a free public space outside the exhibition, intended as “a welcoming place to work, rest and connect with others.”
A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography is now open at Tate Modern (until 14 January 2024). For further information: tate.org
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Image: Installation View, Julianknxx, In Praise of Still Boys 2021 at A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography Tate Modern 2023 © Tate (Lucy Green). Courtesy of the artist.