Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories
Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories-- New works exploring fragments of Cugoano's life.
About
I have been selected as one of the artists in the collective representing the island of Grenada at the official National Pavilion of Grenada in La Biennale di Venezia 2022.
It is a great honor to participate in this world-renowned international art exhibition, representing Grenada for a second time. My last project in the Grenada Pavilion 2019 Second Eulogy: Mind the Gap was critically received in Venice and has since been shown at the Brooklyn Museum (2020) launching Black History month, Martos Gallery, EBSPLOITATION, Curated by Ebony L. Haynes, Yale University, among others.
My new project in Venice Biennale in 2022 Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories comprises film installation, performance/theatre, sculpture, and paintings, exploring fragments of Ottobah Cugoano’s life, who was a major figure in the abolitionist movement in England towards the end of the18th century, whose life ended in obscurity. Cugoano wrote the most radical abolitionist text and book of its time Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evils of Slavery, Humbly Submitted to the Inhabitants of Great-Britain, and the first African to demand the total abolition of the slave trade. He was also one of the first Afro-Brit to have written a text in English while employed as a servant for the Royalist Artist, Richard Cosway, and his wife Maria Cosway.
Cugoano was one of the most seminal figures in Great British to have actively engaged in the fight against slavery in the eighteenth century, though his story and name are often overshadowed by other key figures like Olaudah Equiano, Granville Sharp, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, among others, in the larger history and narratives of the abolitionist movement.
It is a great honor to participate in this world-renowned international art exhibition, representing Grenada for a second time. My last project in the Grenada Pavilion 2019 Second Eulogy: Mind the Gap was critically received in Venice and has since been shown at the Brooklyn Museum (2020) launching Black History month, Martos Gallery, EBSPLOITATION, Curated by Ebony L. Haynes, Yale University, among others.
My new project in Venice Biennale in 2022 Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories comprises film installation, performance/theatre, sculpture, and paintings, exploring fragments of Ottobah Cugoano’s life, who was a major figure in the abolitionist movement in England towards the end of the18th century, whose life ended in obscurity. Cugoano wrote the most radical abolitionist text and book of its time Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evils of Slavery, Humbly Submitted to the Inhabitants of Great-Britain, and the first African to demand the total abolition of the slave trade. He was also one of the first Afro-Brit to have written a text in English while employed as a servant for the Royalist Artist, Richard Cosway, and his wife Maria Cosway.
Cugoano was one of the most seminal figures in Great British to have actively engaged in the fight against slavery in the eighteenth century, though his story and name are often overshadowed by other key figures like Olaudah Equiano, Granville Sharp, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, among others, in the larger history and narratives of the abolitionist movement.
The caveat to accepting the honor is that each artist must support their project independently. We are a small island with limited funding for the arts.
I am seeking the generosity of individuals, art patrons, friends, and institutions to help co-create my project). Your support will enable me to produce the first iteration of the body of works (film installation,` sculpture, performance) that I am currently mapping out and assembling for the Biennale.
Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support!
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GRENADA COLLECTIVE IN THE 2022 VENICE BIENNALE HERE
Learn More: https://billygerardfrank.com/