AlterNativeArt

Statement by Jens Galschiot, 8 April 2011 On Sunday 3rd April the renowned artist Ai Weiwei was arrested by Chinese police. Attempts to contact the artist have been in vain and the Chinese authorities deny any comment on the issue. Allegedly some sort of financial crime is the core of the issue. This accusation is dubious and can be used for anything. Danish artist Jens Galschiot has on two occasions been denied entry to Hong Kong as a result of his artistic commitment in co-operation with the Democracy Movement. He has a permanent ban for entering China. On the occasion of Ai Weiwei’s arrest he declares: “I energetically condemn the arrest of Ai Weiwei. He is one of the world’s most prominent artists, he makes outstanding artworks, and lately he has made a comprehensive exhibition at Tate Modern. All these activities highlight the fact that China has become an important part of the international art scene. Ai Weiwei stands as a prominent representative of the Chinese people, promising

APRIL 29- MAY 1, 2011 Today's Europe is a multiracial, multicultural space. It is a melting pot where African and Caribbean Immigrants-whether they arrived in the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries- and their descendants all shared the common ambition for a better life while mainly facing grave difficulties and injustices. The "Black and Blue in Europe" film series features a selection of films that explore stories of Black people in Europe. WHEN: APRIL 29- MAY 1, 2011 WHERE: Teachers College, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street - Room 263 Macy Take train 1 to 116th street and walk uptown four blocks. Entrance between Broadway and Amsterdam. Picture ID requested to enter building. FRIDAY, APRIL 29 @ 6PM BOMA TERVUREN, THE JOURNEY by Francis Dujardin (Belgium/Congo, 54mins) The extraordinary and tragic saga of 267 Congolese, brought to Brussels to be exposed at the 1897 World's Fair. Fri, April 29 @ 6:00pm - FREE SCREENING FRIDAY, APRIL 29 @ 8PM PLA

Sub-urban, the Urban Espresso Bar's video-lounge presents: work in progress 05.04.2011 - 18.04.2011 ALITE THIJSEN : work in progress : 2009 - 2011 The camera is Alite Thijsen's instrument to get a view on social processes. For her the images are snapshots, inseparable from the context. The author, the subject, the location, the accidental encounters and the assembly, all those elements determine what is shown. Over the past twenty years Alite Thijsen has frequently worked and travelled in Africa. Through her experience she questions the absolute nature of knowledge gathering. The artist's video which is now on show in Sub urban video lounge is shot in Casamanca (Senegal) during the boukout ceremony. The origin of the boukout goes way back in the past and seems to be unaffected by evangelisation, conversion, colonialism and globalization. In an indeterminate moment, once in twenty years, the youngsters in the village are initiated by the elderly into social practice and test

The London via Lagos Festival at Oval House Theatre London via Lagos is a daring festival of new plays by British-Nigerian playwrights offering three radically different visions of the relationship between Nigeria and the UK. Over ten weeks, from May 3 - July 10th, London via Lagos brings to the London stage three innovative and contemporary plays; each with its own perspective spanning the political, the personal, and the domestic. All three dramas investigate today’s Britain and all reflect the vigour and passion of Nigeria. From the streets of Hackney to the English countryside; from the mansions of the Lagos elite to the oil pipelines of Northern Nigeria, three new plays reveal the political, personal and the domestic stories found where two great cultures meet. Co-produced by new British-African drama company, Spora Stories, the Festival features the work of Ade Solanke, Arinze Kene, and Lydia Adetunji. Pandora's Box by Ade Solanke (Tuesday