There will be more than fried food at the State Fair of Texas this year. African American Museum, Dallas at Fair Park announced it has extended If You Look Hard Enough, You Can See Our Future: Selections of Contemporary South African Art from the Nando’s Art Collection through Oct. 22.
The exhibition opened in April and has received an enthusiastic Texas welcome.
“Our supporters, our visitors and our community have rarely witnessed an exhibit that so exquisitely tells the stories of the diverse cultural and political experience found in Africa,” said Dr. Harry Robinson Jr., president and CEO of the African American Museum, Dallas. “We’ve had very large crowds, and our visitors have warmly embraced the powerful, beautiful and bold messages presented by these talented artists.”
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The exhibition is culled from Nando’s Art Collection, one of the world’s largest collections of contemporary South African art, and features 62 pieces from 55 artists.
Dick Enthoven, the late-South African businessman, philanthropist, art collector and primary shareholder of the beloved-restaurant group Nando’s, had a passion for supporting South African artists which led him to create the Nando’s Art Collection and feature original works of art in Nando’s restaurants.
Enthoven then created the Spier Arts Trust, a nonprofit that continues to collect and support South African artists as well as managing the artworks of the Nando’s Art Collection. Enthoven spent more than two decades building the 25,000+ piece collection from which the exhibit was curated.
Tapped by the Enthoven family to curate the North American debut of exemplary works from the collection never before seen together, Laurie Ann Farrell is one of the most important curators working to showcase artists from Africa and the African Diaspora to the U.S.
Farrell served as a curator at The African Center (formerly known as The Museum of African Art) in New York City, an executive director of museums and exhibitions at Savannah College of Art & Design, curator and head of the modern and contemporary art department at the Detroit Institute of Art, and is now a Dallas-based independent curator and writer. In November, Farrell will curate a show as part of the Something Else – Off Biennale Cairo.
“It's an honor of a lifetime to be able to curate an exhibit from such an exemplary collection and bring an impressive range of talent from the African continent to North America,” said Farrell. “While immersed in distinct aesthetics, everyone that visits will experience the universal themes of humanity, love, loss and hope for a better future.”
If You Look Hard Enough, You Can See Our Future draws from the collection’s strength in portraiture, landscape, cityscapes and abstraction and includes works by significant artists from South Africa. Zanele Muholi is a ground-breaking Black queer photographer with a current retrospective in Paris at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Represented by the Stevenson Gallery in South Africa and David Zwirner in New York City and London, Portia Zvahera is a rising star with works featured at the 59th Venice Biennale.
A 35-year survey exhibition from William Kentridge, “In Praise of Shadows” is currently on display at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Recently profiled by CNN, Mbongeni Buthelezi known for his innovative work created from melted plastic is an artist-activist who collects and repurposes litter into breathtaking portraits.
Other notable artists on view include David Goldblatt, Claudette Schreuders, Kagiso Patrick Mautloa, Igshaan Adams, Stephen Hobbs, Vivien Kohler, Anastasia Pather, Penny Siopis, Clyde van den Berg and Samson Mnisi. Many of the young and emerging artists are showing work in North America for the first time.
From now until Sept. 28, the African American Museum, Dallas will be open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 22 during the State Fair of Texas, the museum will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will open at 3 p.m. on Oct. 7 after the Texas/OU game.
During the fair, visitors will need to purchase State Fair of Texas admission to access the museum. No additional fee will be charged to enter the museum.
“In addition to fried food favorites, music, livestock and carnival rides, the estimated 2.5 million visitors to this year’s State Fair of Texas will also be able to experience a sampling of some of the best South African contemporary art in the world,” Robinson said.
Learn more: African American Museum, Dallas
