The highly-anticipated exhibition, If You Look Hard Enough, You Can See Our Future makes its worldwide debut at the African American Museum, Dallas in the city’s historic Fair Park. Made possible by the beloved restaurant group Nando’s, one of the largest collectors of contemporary Southern African art in the world, the exhibition features nearly 90 pieces from more than 60 emerging, mid-career and established artists. Open to the public at no cost on Thursday, April 20th, the exhibition runs through Sunday, August 13th.
Some of the most notable Southern African-based artists will have work on display, including Zanele Muholi, Kudzanai Chiurai, Claudette Schreuders, Patrick Kagiso, Igshaan Adams, Stephen Hobbs, Anastasia Pather, Penny Siopis, William Kentridge, Portia Zvavahera and Samson Mnisi. The selection of work is drawn from the collection’s strength in portraiture, landscape, cityscapes and abstraction.
This exhibition is about the unity of contemporary Southern African artwork. And the collective experience at our museum is an immersion into both Southern African and African American artwork, We are honoured to be selected for Nando’s debut in an exhibition that embodies this shared community, and culture.
Dr. Harry Robinson, Jr President and CEO of the African American Museum, Dallas
Curating an exhibition from a collection built over two decades and assembling pieces never
seen together was an idea that came to life from the late philanthropist and businessman, Dick
Enthoven, who tapped Laurie Ann Farrell to be the curator. One of the most important curators
working to expose artists from Africa and the African Diaspora to the United States; Farrell
served as a curator at The African Center (formerly known as The Museum of African Art) in
New York City, an executive director at Savannah College of Art & Design, curator and head of
modern and contemporary art at the Detroit Institute of Art, and briefly as senior curator at the
Dallas Contemporary.
Farrell
To exhibit exemplary pieces from Nando’s art collection that have never been seen
together before introducing a broad range of South African talent to the United States, Attendees will be immersed in the collections’ distinct aesthetics, while also engaging with universal themes of humanity, love, loss and hope for a better future.
The start of the exhibition takes place during the tenth iteration of Dallas Arts Month when community leaders celebrate the city’s emergence as a capital of culture. The debut of the exhibition is also listed as an “official” must-see for the international set of collectors, professionals and tourists that attend the Dallas Arts Fair in the third week of April every year. April 26th marked the start of public programming on the day that South Africans commemorate the first post-Apartheid democratic election that took place in 1994, a “Freedom Day Panel” will be held. The panel will explore the role of art in the expression and preservation of culture, social cohesion and democracy.
