Honey in the coffee

1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (second year) just ended at Somerset House in London. 4 days of full immersion on Contemporary Art from Africa. From the opening night on October 15th to the closing day on Sunday 19th we could discover and enjoy amazing artists' works, talks, studio and collectors visit, guided tours and a series of parallel events! Touria El Glaoui, the Fair's founder, did a wonderful job. The Fair is growing embracing estimators and collectors. I met also people who came to London especially for 1:54 (which is a great success considering that it is taking place at the same time of Frieze). It is emotional now to look at some of the precious moments at the fair. I really enjoyed the talk between Marlene Smith and John Akomfrah, introduced by Koyo Kouoh (Raw Material Company).

At the behest of Creative Time Kara E. Walker has confected: or the Marvelous Sugar Baby an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant. We are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. An old Sugar factory, Domino Sugar Refinery, dated from 1882, a refinery that was producing sugar for nearly half of the entire Unites States, stands on the East River. The refinery stopped functioning in 2004. Nowadays it is a symbolic monument that it is about to be destroyed. Visitors entering the enormous space will be greeted by a 35.5 feet high sphinx-like figure by well-known African-American artist, Kara Walker. The sugar-coated sphinx will stand in the space for one more week. “Watching Kara Walkerʼs work come to life in the unadorned, expansive space of the Domino factory, with its molasses covered walls and natur

  It is very sad to me to write this post. I have just known that the exhibition Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness at Raw Material Company (Dakar, Senegal) has been vandalized on May 13 and then been interrupted after a series of pressure and acts of violence from the religious community. I think it is very important to support the work of Artistic Director Koyo Kouoh and her team at Raw Material Company, and here an opportunity to do so by signing the petition. It takes only few minutes of our time, so please do it! Here the link to sign the petition . Artistic Director Koyo Kouoh at Raw Material Company, Dakar

Andrew Esiebo, Who Are We, 2012, lambda print, 50x70cm, edition of 5 + 2AP, courtesy Raw Material Company Another exhibition not to be missed in Dakar OFF,  Precarious imaging: a photography exhibition presenting works by Kader Attia (France-Algerie), Jim Chuchu (Kenya), Andrew Esiebo (Nigeria), Amanda Kerdahi M. (Egypt) , Zanele Muholi (South Africa). The exhibition, that explores homosexuality in Africa (where in most countries is considered illegal), is curated by Ato Malinda and Koyo Kouoh.  Precarious imagining is part of a year long programme that addresses Personal Liberties with an emphasis on homosexuality and the growing homophobia in African societies.  Opened few days ago at Raw Material Company (Dakar, Senegal), it will be running until the 18th of June. Kader Attia, stills from "Collages", 2011, 67min, courtesy Galerie Nagel Draxler and Raw Material Company with the support of Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Andrew Esiebo, Who Are We, 2012

Exciting days are opening up in Dakar: not only the 11th Biennale, Dak'Art opening today but also an OFF section with events and exhibitions. My thoughts and best wishes are going to Maïmouna Patrizia Guerresi presenting a solo exhibition "M.eating" at the Ancienne Biscuiterie de Mé dina, conceived by Alessia Montani for M'AMA.ART and Arthemisia Group (vernissage tomorrow the 10th of May at 7.30pm). Maïmouna Guerresi, M-Eating, Red Table, 2013 The title is playing with the two verbs 'to meet' and 'to eat'. In fact her series of photographs are wondering about the importance of coming together while sharing a meal at the table. There is a sacred feeling in Maïmouna's meticulous compositions, time looks suspended and her 'characters' (African men, women and children) in the photographs, are isolated from the context. There is no communication between them, each one looks absorbed within his/her own universe. It makes m

Dakar is getting ready for its 11th Biennale, Dak'Art . Opening on Friday 9 May, the Biennale will close a month later, the 8 June. Curators for this edition are Elise Atangana, Abdelkader Damani and Smooth Ugochukwu Nzewi.  The first Biennale in Dakar was in 1992 and since then has been a platform for contemporary art presenting African artists and African Diaspora. PROGRAM (as 29/04/14) Thursday May 8 Opened only to journalists, partners and officials accredited with their badge. 16h- Press conference with the curators : Elise ATANGANA, Abdelkader DAMANI, Smooth Ugochukwu NZEWI. Friday May 9 10h: Official opening to Grand Theatre in the presence of the President of the Republic of Senegal. 16h: Opening of International Exhibition, Village de la Biennale. 19h: Welcome cocktail, Village de la Biennale. 19h30: Performances of artists (Olivier Fokoua, Ato Malinda, Bouchra Ouizguen). Saturday May 10 9h to 13h: Opening conference. Panel 1 : Curating

There is a nice cafe' in London (Islington area), it's called The Place.  A very good friend is running it, so I decided to go and have a look during my short visit in London. It is just beautiful.  The place is also hosting art exhibitions on the basement (the second one is on). For now artists from South America received deep attention.  If you'll visit the space, you will be also able to enjoy a selection of artworks on the walls i n the coffee area.       photos Alessandra Migani THE PLACE 11 Canonbury Place, London N1 2NQ

I would like to present here two TEDx talks by two of the women I most deeply admire and respect these days: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Zena el Khalil. Chimamanda is a story teller from Nigeria. Her latest novel, Americanah, was in one of the lists I sometimes fill in to remind myself 'things to do', or in this case, 'books to read'. The title stayed abandoned in my list for some months, until no long ago, a friend sent me the link to Chimamanda's talk on TED, " The danger of a single story ". I literally stayed attached to my laptop' screen until the very last sentence. She enchanted me! The next day I ordered the book in the original language (even though it has been translated in Italian too).  Only few weeks ago, a good friend of mine from New York (another amazing woman) posted Chimamanda's recent talk on TED, "We should all be feminists". Once again I stayed attached to the laptop's screen. Once again, enchanted!

Famous for Wrong Reasons Photography exhibition by Sal Idriss Curated by Alessandra Migani 5 April - 2 May 2014 Opening: Saturday 5 April, 7pm WSP Photography - Via Costanzo Cloro 58 (San Paolo) - Rome, Italy WSP Photography is pleased to announce Famous for the Wrong Reasons (FFTWR) , a photo exhibition by internationally-acclaimed photographer Sal Idriss . The exhibition is curated by Alessandra Migani with the support of British Council (Rome). The project FFTWR, has been initiated by Sal Idriss, and is intended to be a free public event. It involves creating photographic portraits and an exhibition of those London families who lost teenage children to gun or knife crime. The project emerged through the personal tragedy of Sal and his family. On the 27th December 2007, Sal's youngest brother, 16 year old Nassirudeen, died after being stabbed in Islington, London. The experience drew Sal's attention to other families throughout London who had witne