Africa Is a Country

Brussels is Africa

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Brussels is Africa

By
Sean Jacobs

[slideshow]

Our man in Brussels, Tom de Vriendt, sent on information on some Africa-themed exhibitions on this summer (till the end of August) in that city. It’s all part of “The Summer of Photography,” which the organizers describe as “… a program that includes some 30 exhibitions, colloquia, workshops, and other photographic events all over Belgium.” First up is “A Useful Dream: African Photography 1960-2010,” curated by Simon Njami (the author of “Anthologie de la photographie africaine”); then there’s a retrospective–consisting of 200 photographs–of the work of the American-born South African photographer Roger Ballen; and finally, there’s the project “Africa Town” by the artist Vincen Beeckman. In a series of photographs, residents of Brussels went about photographing “… how they see Africa in Brussels.”

I am particularly taken by the “Africa Town” exhibition, which includes photos by residents of Brussels and pictures taken by Beeckman in a mobile studio, mostly in Matonge, the mostly African neighborhood in the city.

You can view some of the “Africa Town” online here. I have also embedded some of the mobile studio images above. It’s fascinating to see how people wanted to see themselves represented, what they chose to wear, how they pose, etc.

You can also read about the “Summer of Photography” on the BOZAR blog. And there’s this video interview with Njami, Ballen and Beeckman (in French and English):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQaz4L3pt2c&w=500&h=307&rel=0]

— Sean Jacobs

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