Artist's Spaces: Growing Creative Communities

View the event recording below

How can artist-led organisations encourage creative communities to flourish and interact on a global stage whilst responding to local needs.

We were joined in a conversation with artists and curators working at artist-led organisations across African nations, to discuss their residency and workshop models and the importance of building collaborative international networks while working locally to support emerging creative communities.

Alessio Antoniolli, Director Gasworks and Triangle Network will discuss with Michael Armitage, artist and Director at NCAI, Nairobi and Teesa Bahana, Director at 32° East, Ugandan Arts Trust.

About the Speakers

Panelists

Michael Armitage is a Kenyan-born artist currently living between Nairobi and London. Michael is the founding director at Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI), a non-profit visual art space dedicated to the growth and preservation of contemporary art in East Africa. Established in 2020 and opening its doors to the public in January 2022, NCAI aims to build on a legacy of initiatives seeking to tell the stories of the artists and projects that have shaped the region’s contemporary art scene. Through exhibitions, the development of an East African art archive, a public program of talks, and a multidisciplinary educational program, it hopes to serve as a hub and resource for the thriving East African art community and as an inspiring cultural space for audiences.

Teesa Bahana is the director of 32° East, an independent non-profit organisation, focused on the creation and exploration of contemporary art in Uganda. As director Teesa supports the development and execution of projects such as KLA ART, Kampala's Public art festival and international residency exchanges. Bahana is currently overseeing a major new building project, helping to raise funds for the first purpose-built art center in Kampala. She has also been at the forefront of new arts initiatives such at KLA ART Labs, where artists, thinkers, writers explore new ways of working together, looking at research and critical thinking through public practice. With an academic background in sociology and anthropology, Teesa is particularly interested in the intersection between art and Ugandan society, and how artistic environments should be protected and nurtured.

Chair

Alessio Antoniolli is the Director of Gasworks, London, where he leads a programme of exhibitions, international residencies and participatory events. He is also the Director of Triangle Network, a world-wide network of visual art organisations that work together to create artists’ exchanges and to share knowledge with each other. In 2022 he was appointed curator at Fondazione Memmo, Italy, where he programmes one exhibition each year, starting with a solo presentation by Wai Kin Sin, in 2023. He has lectured widely and has been part of many juries including the UK’s Turner Prize in 2019.