One hundred years after the founding of the Ecole Coloniale Superieure in Antwerp, the adjacent Middelheim Museum invites Sandrine Colard, researcher and curator, to conceive an exhibition that probes silenced histories of colonialism in a site-specific way. For Colard, the term Congoville encompasses the tangible and intangible urban traces of the colony, not on the African continent but in 21st-century Belgium: a school building, a park, imperial myths, and citizens of African descent. In the exhibition and this adjoining publication, the concept Congoville is the starting point for 15 contemporary artists to address colonial history and ponder its aftereffects as black flaneurs walking through a postcolonial city. Due to the multitude of perspectives and voices, this book is both a catalogue and a reference work comprised of artistic and academic contributions. Together, the participating artists and invited authors unfold the blueprint of Congoville, an imaginary city that still subconsciously affects us, but also encourages us to envision a decolonial utopia. With contributions by Pieter Boons, Sandrine Colard, Filip De Boeck, Bas De Roo, Nadia Yala Kisukidi, Sorana Munsya & Leonard Pongo, Herman Van Goethem, Sara Weyns, Nabilla Ait Daoud Participating artists: Sammy Baloji, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Maurice Mbikayi, Jean Katambayi, KinAct Collective, Simone Leigh, Hank Willis Thomas, Zahia Rahmani, Ibrahim Mahama, Angela Ferreira, Kapwani Kiwanga, Sven Augustijnen, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Elisabetta Benassi, Pelagie Gbaguidi Free ebooks English/Dutch and French available

About the Author
Pieter Boons is senior curator of exhibitions in the Middelheim Museum. Sandrine Colard is curator and assistant professor of African Art History at Rutgers University, Newark.

Reviews

In de denkbeeldige stad Congoville worden de materiele en immateriele sporen van de beeldvorming, denk- en geheugenbeelden van deze veelgelaagde geschiedenis uitgediept. De impuls voor de tentoonstelling was historisch onderzoek naar de voormalige Koloniale Hogeschool Middelheim, die aan het gelijknamige museumpark grenst. Het museum werd opgericht toen de hogeschool, waar de toekomstige koloniale elite opgeleid werd, nog actief was. Het gefundeerde zelfonderzoek naar dit koloniale en imperialistische verleden, waarvan de rijke catalogus met nieuwe kennisproductie eveneens blijk geeft, is een essentieel onderdeel van het streven naar dekolonisatie.
Merel Van Tilburg, Editie 213 september-oktober 2021

The exhibition catalogue of Congoville offers a striking example of a postcolonial inventory jointly undertaken by artists, curators and critics. Invented by the curator Sandrine Colard, the very title of the exhibition, which took place in the former premises of the Ecole des Administrateurs Coloniaux, refers to an inventory of the traces of Belgium's imperialist past in the country's geography. The works by the fifteen invited artists are exhibited alongside a major archival project, and fully embrace these specifications.

Ninon Chavoz, Critique d'art, 57 | Autumn/Winter 2021 https://journals.openedition.org/critiquedart/85502

Le catalogue de l'exposition Congoville offre ainsi le saisissant exemple d'un travail d'inventaire postcolonial, conjointement pris en charge par des artistes, des curateurs et des critiques. Invente par sa commissaire Sandrine Colard, le titre meme de l'exposition, sise dans les anciens locaux de l'Ecole des Administrateurs coloniaux, designe l'inventaire des traces d'un passe imperialiste dans le paysage belge. Jouxtant un important travail d'archives, les oeuvres des quinze artistes sollicites embrassent pleinement ce cahier des charges.

Ninon Chavoz, Critique d'art, 57 | Automne/hiver 2021 https://journals.openedition.org/critiquedart/85509

Book Information
ISBN 9789462702363
Author Pieter Boons
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint Leuven University Press
Publisher Leuven University Press
Weight(grams) 980g
Dimensions(mm) 295mm * 195mm * 20mm