Visualizing Transformation

Abstract
Urban change is a highly prevailing topic, not only strongly experienced but also debated in the big cities of many African countries. Much has been written about these urban transformations, but only little research has been done about the way how these transformations are perceived and reflected by visual artists. Johannesburg has experienced a strong impact of urban and cultural change since the end of apartheid and the introduction of democracy in 1994. Many artists of the younger generation engage in these processes of change in the city. Based on different art histories (which are related to the history of apartheid), they deal with urban change in their individual media and discourses. De-segregation, new segregations, migration, economic uncertainties, AIDS and crime are just a few of the topics which artists take up, partly replacing the resistance (and other) art of the preceding generation. But also the beauty, the unique history and the myths keep artists intrigued by the inner city of Johannesburg.
The aims and strategies of the artists have, however, changed in the era of transformation: The questioning of identity, political commitment and immediate coming to terms with the past have increasingly given way to an engagement with complex social phenomena, psychological studies and a preoccupation with urban culture within a rapidly changing city. The experience, examination and representation of the changes in the metropolis by contemporary artists is the centre of this research project. Its central question is:  

• How do the artists perceive and reflect urbanity and social change in Johannesburg within their work?

Keywords: Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, Urban Change, Visual Culture, Performance, Photography, Art in Public Space, Installation, Painting

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Till Förster

Short CV

• Since 2006 interdisciplinary PhD student (Art History and Social Anthropology) at the University of Basel.
• 2009/2010 lecturer at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel.
• 2008-2010 research assistant at the University of Arts in Zurich (ZHdK). 
• 2005 Lic.phil. in Art History, German Literature and Social Anthropology.
• Since 1999 she has worked for a number of cultural institutions and art journals, in art education and as a curator.
  

Research Groups, memberships
Research Group Visual Culture, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel
Vereinigung der Kunsthistorikerinnen und Kunsthistoriker in der Schweiz (VKKS)
Société Suisse d'Etudes Africaines/Schweizerische Afrika Gesellschaft (SSEA/SAG)

Publications
2009, ‘Athi-Patra Rugas Performances: Showing the Invisible Side of Public Spaces’, in: Athi-Patra Ruga: The Works, Cape Town 2009, pp. 7-15
2009, Kunst und Künstlerische Forschung / Art and Artistic Research. Zürcher Jahrbuch der Künste Bd. 6. Zürich, ZHdK (Co-edited with Corina Caduff and Tan Wälchli)
2010: Schichten des Transistorischen. Oberflächen und Reflexionen in der zeitgenössischen Fotografie in Johannesburg, in: kunsttexte.de, no. 2 (14 pages).