African Modernists and the Winds of Change
Adopting the exhibition West Wind as a springboard for a discussion around several artists and their practices in the mid twentieth century, this panel gathers a select group of scholars and cultural mediators who have helped shape and nuance our understanding of modernism in Africa through their involvement in key exhibitions and publications.
| Dates | Fri 16 Oct 2026 |
| Times | 3.30–4.30pm |
| Space | Screening Room |
| Price | Free with purchase of a Fair ticket |
The conversation will touch upon how artists were propelled by the winds of change that came from Ghana and philosophies like the African Renaissance and African personality, finding in these concepts, and certain inherently modern creative principles, such as Sankofa and natural synthesis, fuel for their production and reason to retrieve from the past, whilst renewing for the future.
Be it on stage or in galleries, the discussion will explore this period of awareness and yearning for material and aesthetic freedom for Black people across the world, and its continuity in our time.
The panel will be mediated by Nancy Dantas, 1-54 Presents’ guest curator.
Panellists
Zoé Whitley, Art Historian and Curator
Elsbeth Court, Art Historian, Educator and Curator
You must purchase a Fair ticket for the same day as your talk. This talk takes place in The Screening Room and will commence promptly at the scheduled time, so please arrive five minutes before the start to avoid disappointment.
Header Image: Bertina Lopes (1924-2012), Totem. Image credit: HOLFA Ltd. © Estate of the Artist