Afro-Descendent Art To Take On The Venice Biennale With Superb Group Effort From 193 Gallery

April Bey, It’s Not A Headband You Stupid Bitch, I Can See Hella Shit You Can’t (2023). Courtesy of 193 Gallery.

​Being descended from an alternative culture and growing up in an environment that in many ways does not represent the innards of the home, the children of immigrants and their kin in turn can develop a sense of apartness and togetherness at the same time. Knowing yourself to be unusual and yet respected and welcomed is something we can all feel relative to, even if we’re indigenous to our own culture. However, for the majority, we just can’t know what it’s like to be African descended in the west because it’s not who we are. So how do we learn? Art has the answer.
 
The Parisian 193 Gallery, which began life only in 2018, has expanded to represent in Venice. The Dorsoduro district was the perfect spot for the outreach and growth that good art can’t help but inspire. To become talked about even more, the gallery now is set to host the Centre For Contemporary Art, Lagos. Presenting Passengers In Transit, the group-led exhibition offers an exploration of the Venice Biennale theme of Strangers Everywhere. Drawing on 193’s capabilities to bring together themes and talking points, the cross-cultural and collaborative style is perfect for this key avenue.
 
Collaborators Paula Nascimento, Oyindamola Faithful, and Roger Niyigena Kerera have brought together the thematic spirits of April Bey, Christa David, Euridice Zaituna Kala, Joana Choumali, and Thandiwe Muriu. A range of media portrays the artist’s imagination over works on photo-print to sculpture. Each artist has African heritage yet carries their own sense of self and ideal through their unbordered lives.
 
In a way, we are all passengers in transit, and perhaps the best lessons we can learn are from those who found themselves further than most of us ever get to. Strangers Everywhere can represent many things, living in a new land, growing up in a land your family doesn’t fully understand, or just browsing social media and dealing with attitudes that would have got you in trouble at home. By taking heed from those who have made the most of their human journey and travelled further than anyone else, we can adopt perspectives from high vantage points that otherwise we probably would have missed.   
 
Fascinating read: ​Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language, and Culture
​