LCA | On behalf of...

As November draws near, global attention turns once again to South Africa, where world leaders gather for the G20 Summit. At this critical juncture of international relations, Latitudes Centre for the Arts (LCA) approaches the moment with measured skepticism. In its 26-year history, the G20 has only now set foot on the African continent, placing South Africa in the recurring position of “being the first.” Yet this recognition comes with a weighty challenge: as demands for representation evolve beyond a mere seat at the table toward meaningful, quality engagement, who truly gets to speak for Africa at large?

Over the past five years, Latitudes Online has served as a pan-African contemporary arts platform, amplifying the continent’s multiplicity of voices. In doing so, it has become increasingly clear that no single narrative can capture the richness, diversity, and complexity of African experiences. Yet, in November, South Africa is defaulted as the continent’s voice; a position that paradoxically limits its ability to represent both itself and the continent. This is a subtle but persistent form of erasure, and a contemporary iteration of the historic disregard for African agency.

Centuries after the Berlin Conference drew its borders without consent, Africa is again subjected to decisions that reshape its contours in our absence. In this context, LCA provides a platform for artists to speak from their own perspectives, without burdening them with the impossible task of representing all. 

For this exhibition, power is embedded in subjectivity. These voices are not called upon to unify, advocate, or carry the weight of global expectation - they exist within their own realities, producing a kaleidoscope of identities, narratives, and visions. This is not a comprehensive survey of African art, but a deliberate attempt to subvert traditional platforms, challenging the status quo and foregrounding plurality over simplification.

In a further gesture of subversion, this exhibition ask its audience to relish not only in what is present before us, but continues to listen out for absences. In a world that continually shapes and reshapes Africa in its absence, whose voices are truly being heard?

Curated by Boitumelo Makousu and Denzo Nyathi

Participating Organizations: 

TewasArt and Patrons (Kenya)

The Spaces Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

The Project Room - Namibia (Namibia)

Picha in collaboration with Still Art Residency (DRC and South Africa/USA)

Modzi Gallery (Zambia)

Rangi Gallery (Tanzania)

16/16 (Nigeria)

First Floor Gallery (Zimbabwe)

Oraloapi (Botswana)

Logan + Mokon (Cameron)