CALL FOR AFRO-DESCENDANT ARTISTS - MISSION DAKAR BIENNALE 2020

Application deadline: January 20, 2020

In an effort to provide international opportunities for visual artists from culturally diverse backgrounds, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Centre CLARK have joined forces to launch the Mission Dakar Biennale 2020, with artist Moridja Kitenge Banza as guest curator.

Expanding our network and promoting art from Montreal

This pilot project will allow selected artists to travel to Senegal to attend the Dakar Biennale, on view from late May to early June 2020. The goal is to help local artists of African descent discover one of the oldest and most important contemporary art events on the African continent.  The experience will not only enrich their work, but also help them expand and diversify their networks by meeting local and international arts professionals in attendance at the 14th edition of the Dakar Biennale.

The Dakar Biennale is one of the largest showcases for contemporary African art, and features artists living both on and off the African continent. Established in 1989 by the Senegalese State, its inaugural edition in 1990 was dedicated to literature, and the second edition, in 1992, was devoted to contemporary visual art. Since 1996, the Biennale has focused exclusively on contemporary art from the African diaspora. It is the longest-running biennale of its kind in Africa.

Eligibility criteria :

be an artist of African descent

be based in Montreal (Canadian citizen or Permanent resident)

be available from the end of May to early June

Your proposal must include:

An artist statement (max. 300 words)

An updated CV

Ten (10) digital images of your work (jpg format, max. 8 MB per image).

Please include web links for videos and sound (max. 10 minutes). If the sources are private, please add password.

Submit your proposal to: programmation@clarkplaza.org

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Moridja Kitenge Banza is a Congolese-Canadian artist born in 1980 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. He graduated from the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa, the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Nantes Métropole, and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Université de la Rochelle. In 2010, he was awarded First Prize at the Dakar Biennale of contemporary African Art (DAK’ART) for his video Hymne à nous and his installation De 1848 à nos jours. His work has been presented at the Musée Dauphinois (Grenoble, France), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Rosklide, Denmark), the Arndt Gallery and nGbK (Berlin, Germany), the Biennale Internationale de Casablanca (Casablanca, Morocco), the Fondation Arrijariwafa bank (Casablanca, Morocco), the Fondation Blachère (Apt, France), and at the BAnQ, the Galerie Joyce Yahouda, Oboro, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, Canada).

The Centre d'art et de diffusion CLARK is an artist-run centre dedicated to the presentation and production of contemporary art located in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Guided by a mandate that promotes a balance of production, presentation, and promotion, as well cultural diversity, intergenerational representation, equity and equality between genders, artistic media and the artists it presents or assists – at any stage of their career – the Centre’s programming is at the forefront of today’s most innovative and risk-taking practices by artists.

About the Conseil des arts de Montréal

A dynamic partner of artistic creativity in Montreal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal identifies, supports and recognizes excellence and innovation in the creation, production and presentation of professional artistic endeavours. It encourages openness, discovery and daring at the heart of Montreal’s artistic landscape, thanks to its initiatives. Since 1956, the Conseil des arts de Montréal has been an influential player in the development of “Montreal, Cultural Metropolis.”