Famakan Magassa – Witness of My Time at the Norval Foundation is an exhibition dedicated to the 2023 Winner of the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize.
Curated by Phokeng Setai, the exhibition highlights Magassa’s deeply Heba El Kayal. Magassa’s artwork visually narrates the varied experiences of migrants striving for a better life abroad. Magassa’s body of acrylic-based paintings contain ten social vignettes, composed of stylised human caricatures, characterised in shades of reds, blues and turquoise, alluding to his subjects being both victims and perpetrators of injustice. These colours obscure any clear identification of the subject’s race, though gender is alluded to by the inclusion of stiletto shoes or boots. The remaining figures are barefoot; some have long necks and others not; yet all subjects have just three toes and three fingers on their hands. Most arresting, almost all these other-worldly figures have exaggerated red lips, sometimes with the occasional tooth and protruding tongue. Some figures pout, and some grimace, while others seem resigned or seductive.
Born and raised in Kita, a village 180 kilometres from Bamako, the capital of Mali, Famakan’s upbringing mirrored the experiences of countless postcolonial Africans, shaped by adversity and the fervent pursuit, experienced by many African migrants, for new opportunities elsewhere.
The artist’s deeply intimate exploration of the global phenomenon of travel restrictions was prompted by the challenges that he faced during his visa application process to travel to the United States, undertaken to participate in an artist’s residency program. Famakan’s protracted experience in being granted a visa provided him with an in-depth understanding of the complex difficulty of global travel. This is reflected in the work above titled Demande de Visa (2023).
Famakan’s exhibition serves as an act of self-reflection on his experience, and by extension, a broader socio-political statement to raise awareness of the challenges and dangers of social displacement in Africa and the rest of the world.
Famakan Magassa : Witness of My Time is curated by Phokeng Setai, and chief curatorial consultant, Heba El Kayal.
WHAT: Famakan Magassa – Witness of My Time
WHERE: Norval Foundation – Gallery 9, 1 Ou Kaapse Road, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966
WHEN: until 25 January 2024
INFO: T +27 (0)87 654 5900 | E info@norvalfoundation.org | Visit
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The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize (NSAAP)
The Prize celebrates and rewards the practices of contemporary Artists and raises funds for the Norval Foundation Learning Centre. The Centre aims to expose and educate learners, through art, stimulating the development of critical thinking and interpretation skills which empowers learners to problem solve and navigate through life.
The prize is currently on its third year, and prevous prize winners include previous Grand Prize winners Famakan Magassa (b. 1997, Mali) and Bonolo Kavula (b. 1992, South Africa) and Public Vote Winners Alioune Diagne (b. 1985, Senegal) and Rene Tavares (b. 1983 São Tomé and Príncipe). The prize awards total financial prizes of US $37,000 along with the opportunity for a solo exhibition at the Norval Foundation.
