The Soweto Skate Society comes to Amsterdam

©Akona Kenqu. From the series Society. 2012. Market Photo Workshop

The exhibition 'Society' is a collaboration between Framer Framed and the Market Photo Workshop.

Framer Framed (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and the Market Photo Workshop (Johannsburg, South Africa) have teamed up for the exhibition Society, which opens at Framer Framed on international women’s day tomorrow, Tuesday March 8. Society features works by South African photographer Akona Kenqu (b.1987).

In this series Kenqu explores the daily lives, identities and roles of skaters in contemporary Johannesburg, with focus on a group of Soweto-based skateboarders known as SSS Skate Society Soweto. The exhibit will be shown throughout the public halls of the Tolhuistuin, surrounding the Framer Framed exhibition space. It will remain on view for one to two months after the opening night.

Kenqu began studying at the Market Photo Workshop in 2008, where she completed several courses. Her work has been published in acclaimed photography magazine Camera Austria, and part of her work from the series Kick, Push was shown at the 2011 Joburg Art Fair.

Society is a product of the 2012 ‘Women In Photography Mentorship’, an initiative by the Market Photo Workshop. It offers a unique training program, and it was created to afford a woman photographer a grant and mentor's guidance to produce a body of work. I was also aimed at growing the presence of women photographers in the photography industry. Kenqu is the first recipient of this program. She was mentored by Nadine Hutton.

The opening party of Society will be accompanied by an introductory lecture by independent curator and writer Chandra Frank (PhD candidate at Goldsmiths College, University of London). She will talk about what it might mean to adopt a 'decolonial curatorial approach' and 'thinking towards decolonial practices'.

Frank is currently curating a two year project for Framer Framed (Re-(as)sisting Narratives), on politics of representation and curatorial practices wherein she seeks to question and reframe the underexplored legacies of slavery and colonialism that exists between South Africa and the Netherlands.

The opening and lecture are part of ‘Meer dan Muze’ ("More Than Muse"), a joint initiative in Amsterdam led by Mama Cash, which aims to highlight the creative work of women on March 8.

PROGRAM MARCH 8

OPENING EXHIBITION AKONA KENQU + COCKTAILS
Time: 18:00
Location: IJzaal (at the Tolhuistuin, near Framer Framed space)

OPENING LECTURE BY CHANDRA FRANK: THINKING TOWARDS A DECOLONIAL CURATORIAL PRACTICE
Time: 18:15 - 18:25

Links
Framer Framed
Market Photo Workshop
Facebook event





ZAM reporter