Doors open: 17:30
The conversation will be in English.
Ticket includes access to exhibition area on the day of the event.
Black History Month Norway (BHMN) and MUNCH invite artists Jelsen Lee Innocent and Khalid Shatta to reflect on their artistic practice and relationship to Haiti, Congo, and Sudan.
The artists will share perspectives on the importance of liberation and imagination for art and conditions/situations in Haiti, Congo, and Sudan. Congolese storyteller Mwauke Mufoncol leads the English conversation. The program ends with a literary reading about Palestine by author and cultural producer Rana Issa.
This free event is for everyone interested in contemporary art and African/Afrodiasporic history and heritage.
Black History Month Norway 2024 is spotlighting "Liberation and Imagination". This year's theme ranges from collective to individual action and development. BHMN works to document and highlight African and Afro-diasporic history, and cultural heritage in Norway.
Jelsen Lee Innocent is a Haitian-American interdisciplinary artist whose work critically examines the universal effects of imperialism. His work explores themes of conflict, social hierarchies, and consumer culture, as well as the power dynamics embedded within borders.
Khalid Shatta is a Sudanese -Norwegian visual artist. Shatta’s works are inspired by modernist painting, but also by the art of ancient civilizations and by the culture of his birthplace, Sudan. Ancient Sudanese history is another significant inspiration from the Nile valley civilizations. Shatta is currently exploring a theme he calls the migration of the soul – the sensation of being out of place.
Rana Issa is a multidisciplinary writer, curator and translator. Her work explores themes related to the Palestinian and Arab struggles, with a focus on class violence, colonial structures and queer narratives. She publishes in Arabic, English and Norwegian in leading platforms and journals. Her forthcoming book Tung tids mor will come out with Press Forlag in 2025.
Mwauke Mufoncol is a pantophile who is interested in everything African.
The event, a collaboration between Black History Month Norway, MUNCH and LEV. Supported by Oslo kommune and Fritt Ord.
Picture Credit: Thando Sikawuti
