During my post-colonial theory years, I read a lot of African literature, but I have to confess I know practically nothing about contemporary African art. When selecting artists, African artists just don’t automatically appear on my long lists, simply because I know too little about them. Also, selecting artists based on the colour of their skin, their ethnic backgrounds or religious beliefs etc. is not my thing. However, it would be ridiculous not to have an African or Surinam artist presented at Open Source Amsterdam, considering it is in the Bijlmer. It would be mistakenly interpreted as some sort of statement.
For months there has been a huge stack of books my desk: Africa Remix, Fault Lines, Authentic/Ex-Centric, etc. But should I select an artist based on an image in a book? Hmmm. Sometimes, a curator has to be humble and admit he or she just doesn’t know everything. So I asked the people at the Prince Claus Fund, at Galerie 23, and everybody else who wanted to listen: do you know any good artists from African or Surinam origin that fit my project?
The combination of doing my own – I admit, very limited – research, and tips from experts has now resulted in an excellent list of artists. I will study that list very carefully the next weeks. But to be honest, I know already who I want. Sometimes, the choice for a certain artist is beyond language and rational argument. Sometimes, an artist just speaks to you personally through his or her work and you just feel that very special, inexplicable CLICK.
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