Senegalese Artist Kan-si to Speak at ‘Berg
Muhlenberg College welcomes Senegalese modern artist (Kan-si) Amadou Kane Sy (Kan-si), who will present a talk, “An Artistic Perspective on the Relationship Between Politics and Art in Sénégal (West Africa),” on Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. in Miller Forum, Moyer Hall.Thursday, September 8, 2011 09:58 AM
This event, part of the year-long series “Seeing Africa,” is free and open to the public.
Kan-si is a modern artist who first studied law before receiving a degree from the Escole of des Beaux Arts in Dakar, Senegal. His work has been exhibited internationally. Kan-si is committed to social causes and is known for his work both in urban and rural areas. In 1996, he was one of the founding members of the Senegalese Artist Association Huit Facettes. The Association is known for their socially interactive work – in particular, their ongoing relationship with the village Hamadallaye in the southern coast of Senegal, where they introduced arts and crafts to the inhabitants in order for them to become autonomously productive in the artistic expression. Huit Facettes has also organized international artist workshops in Senegal and participated in exhibitions and performances in the U.S., Belgium and Germany.
In 2004 and 2007 Kan-si’s life and work was featured in Elizabeth Harney’s work In Senghor's Shadow: Art, Politics, and the Avant-Garde in Senegal, 1960-1995 and Blake Stimson and Gregory Sholette’s Collectivism After Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945. Recently, Kan-si and his wife, Muhsana Ali, also an artist, served as artists-in-residence at the Mart Community Art Project in Mart, Texas, where they worked with local residents to produce public art such as Senegalese mosaic murals, chalkboard commentaries, art exhibits and poetry readings.
Kan-si is now coordinating the activities for “Portes et Passages,” a Senegalese-based association presently building a model Holistic Art Center in the rural area of Mbodiene with the purpose of promoting development through means that encourage creativity, self-sufficiency, holistic practice and inter-cultural exchange. Today, Kan-si has become one of the emblematic figures of contemporary art in Senegal.
The “Seeing Africa” lecture series is the first part of an academic year-long series which provides the campus with an opportunity to interact with African scholars and scholars who study Africa. Speakers were selected for their ability and enthusiasm to share their expertise on Africa with the Muhlenberg campus. Ultimately, the goal of the series is to create a better understanding of the importance and value of Africa in the world.
For more information on the series or about Africana Studies at Muhlenberg College, contact Kim Gallon, assistant professor of history and director of the Africana Studies program, at 484-664-3966 or [email protected].
