Will African artists ever be truly free to express Africa?

AfricAvenir and the John Muafangejo Arts Centre, will be screening the film, “Black President” a Namibian Premiere on 16 June at the Katutura Community and Art Centre during a two-day Open Workshop on Arts and Business.

In “Black Presidnent” exiled Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai’s demons come to life as he tries to flee South Africa following various fractious experiences in the Johannesburg art scene.

In the film the White Queen a character from one of his pieces personifies the idea of an externalized and internalized Quasi Colonialism when she first appears in his work, but then steps out of the frame and into the world of the film. She hunts him down, goes rogue and irritates everyone around her while trying to buy up every African person and object she sees. How will this end?

Can Kudzanai be President of his own state of being? Or must he and all others “forever carry the fate and history of our people on our shoulders?”

The central thesis of this film is focused on the idea of “Black Guilt”, a hyper complex shame. The film questions the responsibility of African artists in an ever more globalized universe, where they maybe find themselves playing catch-up to the West as opposed to following their own paths.

“Will African artists ever be truly free to express without having to necessarily represent all our people in our every breath or is the need to be that kind of free simply irresponsible. How much do these complexes and relationships to the ghost of Africa’s violent collective history of oppression, exploitation and struggle haunt African societies?” These vivid existential questions all find an anchor somewhere in the captivating script of “Black President.”

“Is there such a thing as Post Colonialism or indeed Neo Colonialism if Colonialism never ended in the first place? Are Africans still slaves?”

The screening of the film will be free of change and is open to the public.