Book

«Novo Mundo – Arte Contemporânea no Tempo da Pós-Memória» by António Pinto Ribeiro

Edições Afrontamento, 2021

Abstract

Novo Mundo – Arte Contemporânea no Tempo da Pós-Memória (2021) is a book about works and about artists who practice different artistic languages and genres - from cinema to music, from visual arts to theatre, dance and photography. They have in common memories that were transmitted to them by their parents and grandparents of African origin, memories that are deferred and appropriated according to each one and that, today, constitute part of the material of their works. For this reason, they are called artists in the condition of post-memory. Currently, they comprise two generations of artists who star in much of what is pertinent, daring, expressive and critical in contemporary European arts.

Due to the nature of their works, these artists are bearers of a gift that is as innovative as it is urgent and their transnational and transterritorial presence carries with them a combative energy in the face of the legacy of colonialism and racism, as well as clamoring for the urgency of decolonization of the canons and for need for a rewriting of the histories of Africa and Europe, and not just the History of Art.



About the author

António Pinto Ribeiro holds a degree in Philosophy (1980, UCL), a master's degree in Communication Sciences (1995, UNL), PhD in Culture Studies (2015, UCL). He taught at several Portuguese and Foreign Universities. He was artistic director and responsible curator at several Portuguese cultural institutions, including Culturgest and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He was general commissioner of "Past and Present - Lisbon Ibero-American Capital of Culture 2017". His main research interests are developed in the field of contemporary art, specifically African and South American. Of his sixteen book it is important to highlight "Africa the four rivers - The representation of Africa through european and North American travel literature" (2017), Peut-on décolonizer les musées? (2019). As editor highlights: "The urgency of Theory" (2007), "Lessons, I and II" (2008), "The Desire to Live in Common" (2018).