DiARTgonale Editions #2 ECHOES, Launches, Events, Exhibition

Publication

12.02–21.02.2014: SMBA, Amsterdam, NL / WIELS & Enough Room for Space, Brussels, BE / SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, DE

Editors: Marjolijn Dijkman and Annette Schemmel
Assistant Editors: Amélie Bouvier and Bathilde Maestracci
Contributors: Achilleka Komguen, Justine Gaga, Beate Engl, Vincent Meessen, Lionel Manga, Patrick Wokmeni, Nicolas & Rose Eyidi, Meschac Gaba, Didier Schaub, Bisi Silva, Koyo Kouoh, Em’kal Eyongakpa, Joachim Oelsner-Adam, Stefaan Dheedene, Annette Schemmel, Marjolijn Dijkman, Amélie Bouvier and Bathilde Maestracci
Publisher: Enough Room for Space
Support: ArtsCollaboratory, ifa
Design: Indre Klimaite

Hosted by the Cameroonian artist magazine DiARTgonale, the series of special editions presents the outcome of a long-term curatorial endeavour initiated in 2010 for which Cameroonian and European artists collaboratively produce new, research-based artworks. Annette Schemmel curates the project in dialogue with artist Marjolijn Dijkman. The first special edition entitled JAMAN unearthed a century of cultural encounters and adaptations between the continents – ranging from curious early colonial contacts to experimental Science Fiction – by freely crisscrossing disciplines. (Nov. 2012, FR/EN, 72p., 26 x 20 cm, available as printed matter in bookstores, art spaces and libraries throughout Europe and Africa, as well as online).

The second issue deals with ECHOES: a famous novel, an idiosyncratic image bank, a sound archive and historical statements reverberate in the contributions. Artists, writers and passionate amateurs of both continents have engaged with each other in the production of intriguing artworks, interviews, surveys and stories.

Launches:

12 Feb. 2014, 19:30: Launch and Talks, SMBA, Amsterdam, NL
Speakers: Pauline Burmann, Bassam El Baroni (made possible by Dai) and Annette Schemmel
Moderated by: Lucy Cotter
Location: SMBA, Rozenstraat 59, Amsterdam, NL

In a context like Cameroon, access to relevant archives, books and education is not a given.  On the basis of her phd project at Freie Universität Berlin, Annette Schemmel will lead her talk to the following questions: how to engage in projects of artistic research together that touch, for instance, upon our shared history? Should we extend the notion of archive to bodies of knowledge that lay far beyond the reach of traditional archival premises? Are we ready to relate to this peculiar knowledge from the universalist point of view of Contemporary Art? The Alexandria-based curator Bassam El Baroni will contribute a brief sketch of his theory of Contemporary Art to this reflection, while art historian Pauline Burmann will share her expertise as chair of the Thami Mnyele Foundation in Amsterdam that offers artist-in-residence programmes for African artists. A discussion with the audience is to follow. 
13 Feb. 2014, 19:00: Launch and Lecture, Wiels, Brussels, BE
Location: Wiels, Avenue Volxem 354 Volxemlaan, Brussels, BE

Sharing Knowledge, a Perspective on Contemporary Art made in Cameroon‚  By means of selected art works Annette Schemmel will sketch out the complex network of references on which the informally taught artists in Cameroon rely.
13 Feb. 2014, 20:30 – 24:00: Exhibition, ERforS HQ, Drogenbos, BE
Works by: Jean Pierre Bekolo, LucFosther Diop, Beate Engl & Justine Gaga, Salifou Lindou, Maarten Vanden Eynde & Alioum Moussa, Patrick Wokmeni
Curated by: Marjolijn Dijkman and Annette Schemmel
Location: Enough Room for Space HQ, Sterstraat 10 Rue de l’Etoile, Drogenbos

Partly produced by Enough Room for Space, some of the works on display feature in the two special editions of DiARTgonale. They reflect political issues that mark everyday life in Cameroon and artists experiences upon leaving this country. Although explicitness calls for trouble back home, these artworks deal with urgent concerns. 
21 Feb. 2014, 19:00: Launch, Presentations, SAVVY, Berlin, DE
Speakers: Lorenzo Sandoval, Luis Berrios-Negron, the editors of DiARTgonale Special Editions and further contributors to be announced
Location: Mutant Matters at Savvy Contemporary, Richardstraße 20, Berlin, DE

Set amidst the particular archive device designed by Lorenzo Sandoval and S.T.I.F.F. as second part of their project Mutant Matters at Savvy Contemporary, this evening will raise questions with regard to the accessibility of knowledge resources and public archives for contemporary artists working outside of Europe.