Latitudes’ Chelsea Selvan caught up with Dexter Wimberly, the American entrepreneur and Hayama, Japan–based curator redefining contemporary narratives.
What does building energy ecosystems across Africa have in common with collecting contemporary art?
The accessibility of art has been a perennial topic of discussion in art circles. While art galleries and museums are theoretically open to all, social, economic, educational, cultural, class, and racial barriers often complicate access in practice.
Latitudes’ Chelsea Selvan caught up with Dexter Wimberly, the American entrepreneur and Hayama, Japan–based curator redefining contemporary narratives.
In Ethiopia, vulnerability is often met with silence or spiritual platitude. Feelings, especially those that are heavy, shapeless, or unresolved rarely find form, let alone space. The Weight of Soft Things brings together five emerging Ethiopian women artists who confront this absence by placing emotional life at the center of their work.
Conflict and war shape our experiences and definitions socially, and art is no different. Most artists from conflict-affected regions find their work defined by these circumstances, whether they embrace or resist this lens. Since April 2023, many Sudanese art exhibitions have been framed politically or nostalgically, but as a curator, I ask: who is thinking of the art itself? How does the environment affect visual memory and artistic production?
“Take a walk with me” An invitation to accompany another through the paths they navigate. This exhibition extends that call, walking alongside narratives shaped by South Africa’s enduring traumas and the identities forged within them. It retraces the long walk once framed as a journey to freedom. A walk that promised unity and equality but left uneven footprints on a divided land.
