AIDA MULUNEH’S AFRICA FOTO FAIR DEBUTS DEC. 8, 2022-MAR. 26, 2023
First-of-its-kind, the African-led arts initiative launches a virtual platform www.africafotofair.com, as well as in-person public programs across the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rahwa Abdu info@africafotofair.com Phone: 05 75 86 5637 [Abidjan]
The renowned photographer and curator Aida Muluneh is launching Africa Foto Fair, an in-person exhibit, and a virtual community of photographers, art collectors, and supporters from December 2022 through 26 March 2023. The initiative aims to cultivate a new generation of visual artists, develop Africa’s creative economy and workforce, and frame the future image of the bright continent.
Supporters around the world witnessed the historic exhibition launch Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, livestreamed from the Musée des Cultures Contemporaines Adama Toungara (MuCAT) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. The fair showcases photographs by 103 artists, from 44 countries, half of them from Africa, in a series of public events in venues across the city of Abidjan through the end of March 2023.
December also marks the launch of Africa Print House in the Cocody district in Abidjan, which brings commercial-grade photography printing to African soil, as well as an online magazine and virtual marketplace: www.africafotofair.com. This virtual portal will allow supporters from around the world to learn about the photographers and buy their works.
“We are navigating a new frontier in collaboration and exchange through images and creativity by taking Africa to the world and bringing the world to Africa,” said Muluneh. “Please join me on this exciting journey.”
Muluneh was born in Ethiopia, grew up in Yemen and Canada, and was educated at Howard University in the United States. Her award-winning repertoire of dreamlike, Afrofuturistic portraits rich in traditional African symbolism have captivated art critics, collectors and curators of permanent collections at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, and the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth.
In 2010, Muluneh organized Addis Foto Fest, the first and only photography festival in East Africa. That festival took a hiatus during the pandemic and will resume in 2024. With this new photography exhibition on the other coast, Muluneh continues to use her own career visibility as a springboard for artists in Africa where she is committed to maintaining her art and social practice.
A Canon ambassador, in 2019 Muluneh became the first Black woman to co-curate the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition and returned as a commissioned artist for the prize the next year.
She has also been recognized by the European Union Prize in the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie (2017), CRAF International Award of Photography (2010), and as a CatchLight Fellow in San Francisco, USA (2018). She’s juried the Sony World Photography Awards, the World Press Photo Contest, and lectured at the African Union cultural summit, Art Basel, and TEDx /Johannesburg, and gave the Sem Presser Lecture at the World Press Photo Festival in Amsterdam.
The debut of Africa Foto Fair demonstrates Muluneh’s continuing commitment to making art and opportunities for a future generation of artists in her native Africa. “My priority is building a base that unites the West and East Africa, through education, exhibition opportunities and services. This will shift the trajectory of photography from Africa into the international market.”
Africa Foto Fair’s inaugural edition was made possible with the support of Canon, the Open Society Foundation, Catchlight, Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire, Le Pic Villa Hotel, Tilla, Life TV, Life Radio and Elle CI. Other partners include Howard University and American University.
Visit www.africafotofair.com
Follow Africa Foto Fair on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok and YouTube.
Below is the schedule of public programming and in-person events related to the First Edition of the Africa Foto Fair in Abidjan, 2022–2023. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
12/8/2022. AFF First Edition Debut. (Part I: Africa Collection) MuCAT
12/10/2022. AFF Talk. Emerging Ivoirian photographer discussion. MuCAT
12/16/2022 AFF Ivoirian Photographers’ Showcase. Windsor Gallery @ Sofitel.
1/7/2023 AFF Youth Smartphone Photography Workshop. MuCAT.
1/12/2023 Epicure Talks: Featuring Milc Magazine Publisher Joe Williams. Ivoire Golf Club
1/19/2023 Epicure Talks: Voodoo Communication Founder Fabrice Sagwenon. Ivoire Golf Club
1/20/2023 AFF Talks. *VIRTUAL* Global Critics Preview.
1/22/2023 AFF First Edition (Part I: Africa) Finissage/Finale MuCAT
1/31/2023 AFF First Edition (Part II: World Collection) Debut. MuCAT
2/11/2023 AFF Talks: AFF artists discuss their work.
2/12/2023: AFF Portfolio Review. AMS Studio. AFF artists review photographer.
2/18/2023 AFF Workshop: photo album-making. AMS Studio.
2/25/2023 AFF Workshop: Food photography. AMS Studio. [Fee]
3/4/2023 AFF Workshop: Fashion Photography. AMS Studio [Fee]
3/11/2023 AFF Workshop: Photoshop, lighting and editing. AMS Studio [Fee]
3/18/2023 AFF Workshop: Digital Printing. AMS Studio [Fee]
3/26/2023 AFF 2022 Finissage/Finale MuCAT.
VENUES
MuCAT — Musée des Cultures Contemporaines Adama Toungara, Abidjan
Windsor Gallery @ Sofitel, Abidjan
AMS — Aida Muluneh Studios, Abidjan
Ivoire Golf Club, Abidjan
