Getho J. Baptiste, sculpture Embrace, 2014, © Getho J. Baptiste, photo taken by David Frohnapfel.
Alleviative Objects: Solidarity & Conflict in the Art World of Port-au-Prince
Online Lecture
May 5, 2021 17:00 CET
As part of his workshop Epistemic Injustice that took place at the IZK in May 2021, Dr. David Frohnapfel presented his research in a public lecture hosted by Annenstrasse 53, and Das Gesellschaftliche Ding in collaboration with IZK - Institute for Contemporary Art.
The lecture discussed the ongoing epistemic marginalization of Haitian artists and curators as legitimate knowledge producers in the transnational field of contemporary art. It presented several case studies on how Progressive Racism in the discourse on Haitian art recenters Whiteness by performing benign, innocent, and heroic identifications with the artist group Atis Rezistans. How does contemporary art produced in Port-au-Prince relate to the production of white progressive identities?
David Frohnapfel studied art history, comparative literature, and religious studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and at the Universidad de la Habana in Havana. He works on contemporary art and visual culture from the Caribbean region and received a Ph.D. degree for his dissertation, Disobedient Musealities, from Freie Universität Berlin. His research focuses on decolonial theory, critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, and affect theory. He worked as curator of The 3rd Ghetto Biennale: Decentering the Market and Other Tales of Progress in Port-au-Prince together with Leah Gordon, André Eugène, and Jean Herald Celeur, and curated the exhibition NOCTAMBULES on Queer Visualities on the occasion of Le Forum Transculturel d'Art Contemporain. Frohnapfel is also the author of Alleviative Objects. Intersectional Entanglement and Progressive Racism in Caribbean Art (2020).
The project Annenstrasse 53, run by Das Gesellschaftliche Ding. Kunst Architektur und Öffentlichkeit is part of the KUNSTRAUM STEIERMARK fellowship programme of Land Steiermark and supported by steirischer herbst.
