African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) at the University of Witwatersrand present the Atlas of Uncertainty which invites visual artists to explore gateway neighbourhoods in Accra, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. Spanning diverse artistic mediums—from photography and drawing to painting, sculpture, printmaking, digital art, mixed media, textile art, and ceramics—the Atlas aims to cultivate diverse artistic responses that transcend traditional exhibition boundaries and normalise the multifaceted, informal, and transitory dimensions of these cities.
In collaboration with local assessment partners—The GoDown Arts Centre, Arts & Culture Trust, Terra Alta, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts—we will commission twenty-four artists, eight per city, from Accra, Nairobi and Johannesburg.
We invite artists to interact with the data provided from our research in the downloadable section of this website to draw on key themes relating to our areas of research and the communities to create their own interpretations and works.
These pieces do not need to closely ascribe to the data provided, but must draw on and be inspired by the themes presented and where possible the communities studied.
They can be abstract representations of the provided data and themes, embodying what that themes mean to you and your work. The importance is in explaining your work and its relationship to the project.
Over three months selected artists will be invited to critically engage with and reimagine the research. Through dialogues, collaboration, and perhaps co-creation, they will weave their narratives into the thematic underpinnings of the research. The culmination will be a physical and digital atlas and physical exhibition in 2024/ 2025.
Beyond the tangible outcomes, our commissioning process seeks to foster a transnational creative community where innovative ideas and energies flow freely, transcending national boundaries and united by a shared commitment to understanding the various spatial and socio-cultural aspects of our cities.