Art News South Africa

Strauss & Co partners with African Art in Venice Forum

Strauss & Co has partnered with the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF) which is taking place in Venice at the Hotel Monaco later this month.

Strauss & Co is proud to partner with the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF) taking place in Venice at the Hotel Monaco on 20 and 21 April during the opening week of the Venice Biennale.

The AAVF is a non-profit platform that aims to provide public opportunities for exchange, cross-collaboration and visibility for contemporary art from Africa and its diasporas in direct relation to the context of the Biennale.

Focusing on new initiatives from African and Afro-descendant contemporary artists, AAVF will host a series of panels, sponsored by Strauss & Co, that will address discussions around the restitution of African material culture and its meaning for contemporary artists.

These discussions include the impact of women-led projects in advancing African art, the support to the arts provided by artist-led foundations across the African continent and Afro-descendants' legacies and creative experimentation in Italy.

The event is free; however, a reservation is required here.

Strauss & Co executive chairperson Frank Kilbourn said, “Strauss is proud to take part in this important initiative, not only to encourage the art and artists of South Africa but to further support the continent. We are pleased to use our global platform and website to promote, through both live and digital dialogues, the many voices in the art eco-system across the African continent and diaspora who will be present or listening to the conversations in Venice.”

Full programme information can be found here.

Special events

In anticipation of this collaboration, Strauss & Co will host a special webinar aeries leading up to the Biennale on 11 and 12 April at 6pm CAT.

The first will be hosted by AAVF founder Neri Torcello and Strauss & Co’s Kate Fellens who will discuss the role of the forum with Dr Cheryl Findley. The following day, senior art specialist, Matthew Partridge, will discuss the history of the South African pavilion at the Venice Biennale, followed by a discussion with researcher Leigh Leyde and artist Phumulani Ntuli who will be presenting at the pavilion this year.

On 20 and 21 April, from 10am to 4pm CAT in Johannesburg, a special event will be hosted at the Strauss & Co offices where a live stream of the panel discussions will be available.

Kimberley Cunningham, founder of Cunningham Contemporary, will be in conversation with art specialist Arisha Maharaj, discussing the impact of Art World Leaders at the forefront of the International Art Scene.

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