A Photographic Road Trip Across Africa

International Thu 06-10-2011

A Photographic Road Trip Across Africa
News

Invisible Borders: The Trans-African Photography Initiative is proud to announce the third edition of the annual road trip project, taking place from November 2 to December 16, 2011.

The 2011 Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Initiative

The 2011 Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Initiative, November 2 to December 16, 2011

The official kick-off for this year’s event will be Lagos, with twelve African artists, travelling about 12000 km, all the way up to Addis Ababa, with 4 to 7 days stops in the capitals and major cities of Nigeria, Tchad, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Once again, the approach will be a focus on revealing, through the art of photography, images of African life and people (in relation to their environment), that usually go unnoticed in the media, all the while exploring themes centred on socio-political discourses prevalent in the continent.

With a group of ten photographers (from Nigeria and Sudan) and two writers (from Ghana and Nigeria) - who will capture the essence of the road trip in words -, the 2011 Invisible Borders team will focus their mission on the creation of artistic works in collaboration with indigenous artists in the cities visited, all the while developing links with local art communities.

The question of identity as it translates into style and modes of dressing, as well as issues such as women’s rights, the role of economic world powers in the shaping of the African economy, nature and wildlife preservation / sustainability, as well as conflicts in the African soil will be considered as topics to be explored.

At the five-day stop in N’djamena, Tchad, Invisible Borders will collaborate with Institut Français of Tchad and the Ndam Ndam Lei Dance Festival to carry out a workshop with photographers from Tchad, as well as create a “portrait” of the Dance Festival taking place at this period.

On the final leg of this year’s adventure, upon arrival in Addis Ababa at the end of November, a workshop involving local photographers, along with an exhibition featuring a selection of works produced during the road trip, will take place at the Museum of Modern Art of Addis Ababa, in collaboration with its director, Aida Muluneh. The exhibition will comprise of printed photographic works as well as digital projections of photography and video works.

Worldwide Experience

Following the success of the previous Invisible Borders road trips, this year’s edition will also be made into a documentary film and book. Additionally, events and activities of the journey will be the case for exclusive online posts and broadcasts in the form of texts from the writers, images from the photographers, video logs from the film crew, and real-time testimonies from participants as the journey unfolds, and this, via the Invisible Borders’ blog and social media profiles will enable the worldwide public to live the experience in real-time and believe that borders are indeed invisible.

This year’s participants, which include previous editions’ members and new ones from the countries to be visited, (and Ghana) are as follows: Amaize Ojeikere, Ray Daniels Okeugo, Chidinma Nnorom, Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, Emmanuel Iduma, Ala Khier, Unoma Giese, Kemi Akin-Nibosun,Tom Saater, Uche Okpa-Iroha, Jumoke Sanwo, Emeka Okereke.

About Invisible Borders

“Invisible Borders Trans-African Photography Initiative is an art-led initiative, founded in Nigeria in 2009 by Emeka Okereke alongside other Nigerian artists-mostly photographers-with a drive and urge to effect change in the society.

The vision of the initiative is to become a symbol of networking and trans-border associations within the arts and photography in Africa, but also to become a stepping-stone platform for young immerging talents in the continent in such a way that it creates a breeding ground for young artist to be thinking beyond borders at the beginning stage of their creative quest.

The mission of the Initiative is to tell Africa’s stories, by Africans, through photography and inspiring artistic interventions; to encourage exposure of upcoming African photographers towards art and photography as practiced in other parts of the continent; to establish a platform that encourages and embraces trans-African artistic relationships within the continent, and to contribute towards the socio-political discourse shaping Africa of the 21st Century.

Their goal is to constantly spread and share knowledge and information, cutting across the demarcating lines of classes and proficiency in literacy, thereby expanding the art public to include more of the local audience and the “layman”. Their activities aim to cut through the local, national and international, and to create points of interactions between these levels, hence the name Invisible Borders.”

For press inquiries or additional information about the project, please contact:

Anna Djigo,
Email: public.relations@invisible-borders.com,
Tel: +225 48 74 44 45.
or visit the Invisible Borders Blog.

Posted By: Allan Kapten

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