Faites comme chez vous

Raw Material Company - Center for art, knowledge and society, Dakar

Borrowed from the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, 'Faites comme chez vous' is in itself a self-limiting invitation which means: please feel at home, but remember that this is not true, this is not your home and you are expected to respect my rules. The works presented range from wall painting, installation, photography and network-building to social intervention and rap.

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Curated by Charlotte Bagger Brandt and Koyo Kouoh

Artists: A kassen, Phillip Aguirre y Otegui, Kenneth A. Balfelt, Fatim, Kan-Si & Frans Jacobi, Mie Mørkeberg, Otobong Nkanga, George Osodi, Piniang, Fatou Kandé Senghor and Wooloo

Faites comme chez vous presents 11 international artists and artists' groups whose works address the notion of hospitality.

The notion of hospitality forcedly embodies the concept of the other or the foreigner, for the word requires a framework in which to layout the outsider or the guest. Borrowed from the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, "Faites comme chez vous" is in itself a self-limiting invitation which means: please feel at home, but remember that this is not true, this is not your home and you are expected to respect my rules. In his thinking and writing on hospitality Derrida also distinguished between a guest and a parasite arguing that hospitality, reception or the welcome offered have to be submitted to a basic jurisdiction. Not all new arrivals are received as guests if they don't have the benefit of the right to hospitality or the right to asylum.

The contemporary world is characterized by the constant movement and displacement of people, as well as by the increased unwillingness of countries to welcome migrants. The exhibition looks at how artists interpret the ideas of home and hospitality in a globalized world. It includes works—many made especially for the exhibition—that explore issues of hospitality at an individual, institutional or national level, and which touch upon themes of human migration, colonial heritage and international conflict.

Faites comme chez vous is a relocation of the exhibition Make Yourself at Home—curated by Charlotte Bagger Brandt and Koyo Kouoh and displayed at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, in 2010 as part of the festival, My World IMAGES, organized by the Danish Center for Culture and Development (DCCD).

Relocating the exhibition from a Danish to a Senegalese context is an integral part of the exhibition project. Presenting Faites comme chez vous at RAW MATERIAL COMPANY simulates the migratory movement in a reversed order. It stresses the concept of hospitality within an artistic and institutional framework—as well as making the works and topics accessible to a different exhibition audience. The works presented range from wall painting, installation, photography and network-building to social intervention and rap.

The exhibition is accompanied by a newspaper with texts by Jacob Alsted, Charlotte Bagger Brandt, Koyo Kouoh, Oumar Ndao and Margrethe Troensegaard.

Exhibition related activities May–June 2011

ABOUT RAW MATERIAL COMPANY
RAW MATERIAL COMPANY is a center for art, knowledge and society. Since its launch in 2008, it has functioned as a mobile art initiative unfolding within the realms of exhibition making, commissioning, knowledge sharing, and archiving of theory and criticism. It works to foster appreciation and growth of artistic and intellectual creativity in Africa. The underlying rationale of its program is a firm belief in visual arts as a potent tool capable of shifting perspectives, and to ignite engagement for art practice as a viable path for social and political transformation. The program is transdisciplinary and is equally informed by urbanity, literature, film, architecture, politics, fashion, cuisine, and diasporas.

The program of RAW MATERIAL COMPANY is generously supported by Arts Collaboratory and the Danish Arts Council.

For further information please contact Marie Helene Pereira info@rawmaterialcompany.org

Press conference with the participating artists and exhibition curators
Wednesday 25 May 2011 from 15.00–17.00

Guided tour with director Koyo Kouoh followed by an open discussion
Saturday 28 May 2011 from 16.00–17.00
Saturday 11 June 2011 from 17.00–18.00

VOX-ARTIS: Faites comme chez vous
Panel debate with the participating artists and exhibition curators on the topics of migration, hospitality and the exhibition at large
Friday 27 May 2011 from 17.00–19.00

Raw Material Company – center for art, knowledge and society
4074 bis Sicap Amitié 2, BP 22170 Dakar
Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday from 10am–8pm
La Compagnie hours: Tuesday–Saturday from 12pm–12am

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Raw Material Company - Center for art, knowledge and society

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