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Peju Layiwola Abstract
posted May 22, 2018
2018 Global Conversations
Border Crossings: The Migration of Art, People, and Ideas
Sponsored by the CAA-Getty International Program and CAA’s International Committee
Featuring five alumni of the CAA-Getty International Program
Panelist: Peju Layiwola
Affiliation: University of Lagos, Nigeria
Paper Title: Conversations Across Borders: Fostering Art linkages in the Age of Information Technology
The limited capacity of African artists to participate in major art events and blockbuster exhibitions has sometimes been attributed to where they live. African artists who reside in the Global North appear to participate in exhibitions with greater ease. However, with improved technology, artists based on the African continent are increasingly becoming more visible, participating in biennales, art auctions, mega exhibitions and other artistic engagements that had previously been unavailable to them. With a growing reliance on the Internet and social media, there has been a gradual erasure of distance, so that the idea of “the Center” in artistic production and exhibition is giving way to multiple centers. This paper looks at the impact of digital communication technology in bringing about transnational and transcultural conversations amongst artists. The focus will be on how a curator like Bisi Silva, through her Centre for Contemporary Arts, based in Lagos, Nigeria, is using the Internet to disseminate information about her work and making connections with artists and other curators across distance and borders.