To mark the 50th anniversary of Africa Day, The Africa Channel (Sky 209, Virgin 828) features a weekend full of special programmes about the continent, including documentaries, films and music.
25 May is celebrated as Africa Day in remembrance of the founding of the Organisation of Africa Unity in 1963, now known as the African Union.
The special line-up includes new series African Masters, comprised of six documentary films about the vibrant African contemporary art scene. It features interviews with African artists recognised worldwide, including exclusive access to some of the world's most collectable artists coming from South Africa, such as William Kentridge and Mary Sibande.
Following a flurry of major exhibitions (like African Art, New York, the Avant-Garde, MOMA and Hidden Histories at the V&A, London), African Masters brings to television for the first time the in-depth and exciting story of this burgeoning arts space.
Taking the viewer on a visually stunning journey across the globe, The Africa Channel speaks to artists such as El Anatsui, Yinka Shonibare and Yusuf Grillo, with French curator and art dealer Andr Magnin, and Bisi Silva, Curator at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos visiting them at studios in Senegal, galleries in New York, artistic residencies in Nigeria and auction houses in London.
In the first episode Revelations', to be aired on Saturday 25 May at 11.30am and on Sunday 26 May at 11am, curators from the V&A and the Metropolitan Museum trace the historical journey of African art, revealing how artworks were often viewed through the prism of colonialism. Internationally renowned South African artist William Kentridge and Beninese artist Romuald Hazoum explain what it means for them to be African artists, while Yinka Shonibare MBE declares, It is ambiguity that I absolutely enjoy, not fulfilling people's desire of what an African artist is.
The second episode, Creations takes the viewer on a global tour with exclusive and unrivalled access to studios of leading contemporary artists. We watch London-based sculptor Sokari Douglas-Camp shaping steel in her studio, and meet Yusuf Grillo (Nigeria) and Wangechi Mutu (Kenya, USA).
In episode three, Going Global, African Masters meets some of the emerging players in the art world, whose work is changing the global perception of contemporary African art. Viewers visit the vibrant art district of Maboneng, Johannesburg and get an exclusive insight to one of the continent's first auction houses ArtHouse Contemporary Limited in Lagos. Emerging artists like Mary Sibande (South Africa), Jacqueline Karuti (Kenya) and Cyrus Kabiru (Kenya) talk about the business of art and making it big on the global scene.
Episodes 4, 5 and 6 include exclusive studio visits to artists including El Anatsui, Ablade Glover, Soly Ciss , Sokari Douglas-Camp, Bruce Onabrakpeya and Mary Evans.
Episode 1 to 3 will also air weekly at 9pm starting Tuesday 4 June, followed by Episodes 4, 5 and 6.
Sunday's Africa Channel highlight is a conversation with a Nobel Peace Prize Winner and a former UN Secretary Kofi Annan in Suspended Dream at 4.30pm.
The special line-up also includes:
Sunday 2.30pm: Wole Soyinka: Child of the Forest - Story of the Nigerian Nobel prize winner
Sunday at 3.30pm: Mwalimu: Legacy of Nyerere - The architect of Tanzania's independence
Details on www.theafricachannel.co.uk/africa-day-2013
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To mark the 50th anniversary of Africa Day, The Africa Channel (Sky 209, Virgin 828) features a weekend full of special programmes about the continent, including documentaries, films and music.
