AFRICA Contemporary art in Madagascar

Spotlight /Madagascar/ Africa

October - December 2022

AFRICA

CHRISTINE XUEREB SEIDU

‘The City Of A Thousand Warriors’ :

Contemporary Art in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Joël Andrianomearisoa, Black Paper, detail, 2014. Courtesy: Revue Noir

Uprooting Earth Element installation work by Temandrota (Biennale Arts Actuels, La Réunion). Courtesy: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 httpscreativecommons.orglicensesby2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Earlier this year I came across an article on The Art Newspaper citing the title ‘We Are Under Water, But We Can Dream: Inside Madagascar’s First Contemporary Art Centre’. It put a smile on my face as I believe this is what art is really all about. We have been noticing an increase in art centres popping up throughout Africa as many private patrons are realizing what art is capable of doing in their home towns. Joël Andriamearisoa, the artistic director of the recently launched non-profit art centre Hakanto Contemporary in Antananarivo, believes that Malagasy artists must believe that they’re important to their country, as living and thinking as an artist ‘benefits everyone’, even though amid this initiative many locals suffering poverty following the floodings feel the contrary. The Madagascar-born artist Andriamearisoa, who represented Madagascar in 2019 at its first appearance in the Venice Biennale, describes the city Antananarivo as a mix between Rome, London and Lisbon with a lot of British sophistication, since it was once colonized by the British but also takes a lot of inspiration from Portugal, France and Italy. And although it is part of the African continent, he says it feels more Asian.

He wanted to create a place for artists in Antananarivo who inspire him and since the inception of Hakanto Contemporary in 2020, it was indeed the first time many of the artists exhibited their work to a museum standard. Hasnaine Yavarhoussen, a 35-year-old art collector and the chief executive of Groupe Filatex, a real estate and energy firm that provides around a third of the island’s power, is committed to funding Hakanto Contemporary and establishing Malagasy artists on the world stage. He plans on building a larger standalone gallery, upgrading from the current 400 sq. m site in an office block. Residencies and international travelling exhibitions of Malagasy art are being planned and an education outreach programme is already under way in schools across the city. Multi-disciplinary artists are being supported through the Endowment fund, allowing space for dialogues between the local and the international art scene through residencies, workshops and exhibitions, which will also benefit the community who can visit for free.

Amongst the artists who have benefited from this initiative are the leading Malagasy photographer Ramily and other Malagasy photographers Viviane Rakotoarivony, Rijasolo, Joan Paoly and Philippe Gaubert. Other visual artists include Rina Ralay Ranaivo, Temandrota, Malala Andrialavidrazana, Vonjiniaina, Alexandre Gourcon, Domi Sanji, Ndao Hanavao and Donn. Hakanto Contemporary’s current exhibition ‘La Nouvelle Main’ which runs until 22nd October

Spotlight /Madagascar/ Africa

October - December 2022

AFRICA

Continued

2022, is that of a group exhibition with artists Rose Kely Ranarivelo, Andy Rasoloharivony, Fitiavana Ratovo and Sanka. Joël Andriamearisoa, the centre’s artistic director, currently has an installation at the atrium of South Africa’s Zeitz Mocaa until 25th July 2023, a continuation of his 2019 Venice Biennale installation. Also running at MACAAL Marrakech is his solo show ‘Our Land Just a Dream’ which runs until 26th July 2023. Every corner of this contemporary art museum is filled with his drawings, paintings, textiles, sculptures, objects designed by him at the shop and food designed by him at the restaurant.

Before Hakanto Contemporary there was just the Institut Francais Madagascar and La Fondation H which served as exhibition spaces in Antananarivo. La Fondation H also has another space in Paris which help out Malagasy artists promote their work internationally. Until 11th November, Viviane Rakotoarivony, vice-winner of the Prix Paritana 2022 (a program of Fondation H which has supported the Malagasy art scene and awards 3 Malagasy nationals

Temandrota artwork at Beyond All You Are Mine at Hakanto Contemporary. Courtesy: Hakanto Contemporary

Joël Andrianomearisoa I’ve Forgotten the Night Installation at Venice Biennale 2019. Courtesy: Revue Noir or those living in Madagascar each year, since 2017) currently has her exhibition ‘Oxymore’ at the Antananarivo space. She benefited from personalized support from the Fondation H team as well as a production grant for the realization of her exhibition. Meanwhile, Fondation H invited the Malagasy artist Temandrota for a creative residency at the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris, where he developed a body of work giving rise to the exhibition Barbie Caillou, which is currently showing at Fondation H’s Parisian space until November 23, 2022. Other Malagasy artists getting international recognition include Mahefa Dimbiniaina Randrianarivelo who was one of this year’s CAP (Contemporary African Photography) prize winners and Emmanuelle Andrianjafy who was the Aperture 2017 portfolio prize’s runner up.