Goethe-Institut Nigeria has initiated a mobile residency programme titled “Stretched Terrains – The Mobile Museum on its Way to Dak’Art” with a group of young artists from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Germany. This is the second time since 2016 that the German cultural organisation in Nigeria is coming up with such a project.
A Goethe-Institut Nigeria statement Wednesday said the group will start the six-week journey with an old converted public transport bus, the Molue Mobile Museum of Contemporary Art, on April 11, 2018 in Lagos.
“Crossing Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Mali, they will eventually arrive in Dakar, Senegal right at the opening of the 13th International Biennial DaK’Art, beginning in May. On May 07, they will head back to Nigeria, where they will finally arrive on May 25,” said the statement.
On their journey, the statement continues, the artists examine diverse public spaces as communication zones of social, economic and political interaction/intervention/disruption. The project embraces the diversity of practices and perspectives of the participating artists, who will discuss and
exchange their artistic interactions as they travel the approximately 10,000-kilometre road trip.
The artworks, which will be created in Dakar and during the journey will be presented and discussed along the way back to Nigeria at the Goethe-Institutes and cultural centres at Dakar, Bamako, Abidjan, Accra, Lomé and Lagos.
“The challenge for the artists, but also the special character of the project is the frequent relocation, the constantly changing framework and the unexpected connected with the journey. Experimental in nature, the project encourages exchange and collaboration among participating artists and the public,” said the statement.
The Nigerian artist Emeka Udemba, who is living in Germany, is the curator of the project.
The whole journey can be followed on the weblog, Stretched Terrains, and social media with the hashtag #StretchedTerrains
“Stretched Terrains – The Mobile Museum on the Way to Dak’Art” is a project by Goethe-Institut Nigeria, supported by Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines”
The participants are Emeka Udemba, Gabriel Goller, Monsuru Alashe, Ray Claver Agbo, Souleymane Konate and Dame Diongue, better known as artist Bay Dam.