Explore the global appeal of contemporary Ethiopian artist Elias Sime’s recent works with MOMA curator Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi in this illustrated talk. By looking closely at Sime’s art, Nzewi explores how his practice is anchored on Ethiopian artistic traditions and art history while negotiating the fraught category of African art and geopolitics of contemporary art.
Ugochukwu-Smooth Nzewi is an artist, art historian, and the Steven and Lisa Tanenbaum Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He was formerly curator of African art at the Cleveland Museum of Art as well as at Dartmouth College’s Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire. Nzewi has curated major international exhibitions, including the Dakar Biennale, Senegal, in 2014, and he served on the curatorial team for the 11th Shanghai Biennale in 2016–17. His recent publications include Second Careers: Two Tributaries in African Art (2019) and Emeka Ogboh: Lagos Soundscapes (2019). Nzewi holds a PhD in art history from Emory University. As an artist, he has exhibited internationally and is represented in public and private collections including the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC, and Newark Museum, New Jersey.
This program will feature a 45-minute presentation with the speakers, followed by a live audience Q&A. Questions may be sent in advance to programs@rom.on.ca. Please indicate the "ROM Connects July 14 Q&A" in the subject line.