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Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is thrilled to invite you to the public opening of ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐, a solo exhibition by Ghanaian-American artist Rita Mawuena Benissan. Deeply rooted within her Ghanaian culture, Benissanโs practice has particular focus on the reimagining of the royal umbrella and stool, symbols of Akan chieftaincy. ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ explores the enstoolment of a prospective chief, akin to coronation; a call to take their rightful seat in the stool that has been chosen for them. The exhibition opens Wednesday, 13 November 2024 on Level 3, Silo Side of the museum, and runs until 5 October 2025.
โThe exhibition layout simulates the enstoolment tradition with each successive gallery symbolising a stage in the process,โ explains Beata America, the curator of One Must Be Seated, and Assistant Curator at Zeitz MOCAA. Prompted by the new film, One Must Be Seated (2024), from which the exhibition takes its title, you are invited to be nominated and confronted by the ancestors. โHave you not seen the seat that we made for you? You were made to be seated.โ Walking through, one passes the palace at dusk, depicted in an intricately woven tapestry, We Process at Sunrise (2024); receives a powerful affirmation of growth and renewal in the green shades of We Give Power to You (2024), another umbrella work; and is ultimately led to the final golden throne. America adds: โIt will embrace its chosen, sealing the bond between leader and legacy. When the time comes, will you be open to receive the call?โ
Benissan was born in Abidjan, Cote DโIvoire in 1995 to Ghanaian parents. Her journey led her to the United States as a baby, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Apparel and Textile Design from Michigan State University in 2017, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in photography and an African Studies Program Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021. Ritaโs works have been acquired by private and institutional collections, including Foundation H, The Dean Collection, Fundacion Yannick Y Ben, Paola Pavirani Golinelli, Nicolas Berggruen, Amoako Boafo, and many others.
๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ forms part of an ongoing series of in-depth, research-based solo exhibitions by Zeitz MOCAA that bring into focus and contextualise the practices of important artists from Africa and the Diaspora, and those whose work focuses on seminal topics in the African present.
๐ก๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ป ๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ฉ๐ช๐ฃ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ช, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, S Arm road, Silo district, V&A Waterfront, 8001 Cape Town, South Africa, Zeitz Mocaa Food, Re/173714 Silo Sq, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa,Cape Town, Western Cape
