Creativity
Another viewpoint
The artistic images published in this issue of ‘The Courier’ are taken from major events showcasing contemporary African and ACP art, including the following:
- Another World, Bamako 2005, selected works from the 6th African encounters in Bamako dedicated to contemporary photography and presented by its general curator, Simon Njami, at ‘La Centrale Electrique’, the new European centre of contemporary art in Brussels.
- Dak’Art 2006, the biannual of contemporary African arts launched in 1992. It has often been an uphill struggle, but the event is now recognised as one of the highlights of the international arts calendar, representing a rich and multidimensional Africa, respecting its cultural traditions and, at the same time, part of the contemporary scene. Afrique-Europe: rêves croisés, an European Commission sponsored exhibition in the wings of European Development Days, featured a number of works selected by Yacouba Konaté, the general curator of Dak'Art.
- The 1st African, Caribbean and Pacific Cultural Festival, organised by the ACP Secretariat, is covered in more depth in this issue of ‘The Courier’. We believe that the aims, condemnation, irony, and sometimes the sarcasm expressed by the artists in the works we selected enhance the articles, present "another viewpoint" and add to the depth of the commentary.
We thank the artists for their works and event organisers for their efforts, as well as the City of Brussels’ Deputy Mayor for Culture for letting ‘The Courier’ publish photographs of the works. We would also like to take the opportunity to invite artists and other cultural actors to submit artistic images for publication in a magazine whose aim is to show its readers – women, young people, the ‘movers and shakers’ of the world, the political and economic policy-makers – that art and artists are not minor players but a major part of the development process.
Sandra Federici,
‘The Courier's’ artistic coordination officer
European Commission www.europa.eu
Dak'Art www.dakart.org
Secretariat of the ACP Group www.acp.int
