The contemporary art gallery, which represents 25 artists, will inaugurate the new space, in Chiado, with an exhibition of the work of Santomense artist René Tavares, "In Memory We Trust," which will also have, in parallel, an exhibition nucleus of works in Luanda, said curator Graça Rodrigues, contacted by Lusa news agency.
"We had some projects in Lisbon based on partnerships with other institutions, starting with ARCOmadrid, in the 'Africa in Focus' section, and we also organized a large exhibition. But it made sense for us to have a connection with Europe, because most of our artists are between Africa and Europe, and Portugal became a natural positioning point", explained the co-founder of This is not a White Cube, together with Sónia Ribeiro.
This new space in Lisbon, designed from scratch, "is also part of a broader movement of internationalization of artists, because from Europe it is easier to establish contacts with countries like the United States and Dubai," said Graça Rodrigues.
"covid-19 ended up speeding up the whole process to open a space in Lisbon. A year ago, we were about to open this exhibition at the Banco Económico, in Luanda, which was presented to the press, all set up, but never opened to the public, due to the pandemic," she told Lusa.
Forced to return to Lisbon, where the team was stranded, they eventually decided to redefine their schedule to anticipate the opening process, and began designing the new gallery space in the Portuguese capital.
"From a strategic point of view, Portugal is important because of Lusophony, but we want to go beyond that. There are a series of social, political and aesthetic issues that the artists want to overcome, namely those linked to languages that are impositions of the colonial past", commented the head of the artistic direction.
In Lisbon, at the new gallery, at Rua da Emenda 72, the new exhibition will show the most recent works by René Tavares, born in 1983, in São Tomé e Príncipe, and according to the curator, one of the most relevant artists of his generation in that country.
At the gallery's delegation in Luanda, another group of older works, created since 2012, will be on display.
This is not a White Cube opened as a contemporary art gallery in Luanda in 2016, and started with projects in Portugal in 2019, currently representing a total of 25 artists, mainly Portuguese, Brazilian and African.
In the context of the inauguration, the gallery will launch the book "Tchiloli Unlimited", by René Tavares, with a foreword by writer José Eduardo Agualusa, bringing together cross-looks on the historical, social and aesthetic aspects existing in this popular play from São Tomé and Príncipe.
It also counts on the collaboration of Ana Nolasco, researcher in aesthetics/philosophy, who establishes the connection between Tchiloli and contemporary art in the African context, Luisa Paollineli, professor at the University of Madeira, Ângelo Torres, actor and director, Adelaide Ginga, curator, and actor Manuel Carvalho.
