Exhibitions

Kayaye – they carry more than just a load                                                                            scroll ned for dansk version

August 8th til 23rd Pixel Gallery
H.C. Ørstedsvej 66 2000 Frederiksberg
The exhibition Kayaye is the result of a collaboration between visual artists Gillion Grantsaan, Tahid Abu, Abdul-Hameed Ibrahim and Bettina Fürstenberg.

On the opening day there will be an acoustic Sababas performance with some of northern Ghana’s most notable musicians.

The video installation is a sensory experience. Music, movies, effects and aesthetic elements draw the audience into the work and allow for an unconventional depiction of "Kayaye". "Kayaye" refers to mainly women from northern Ghana, who travel south and often end up in the capital Accra, where they work as day laborers carrying things for people, bearing almost anything. Kayaye is a phenomenon arising from poverty, unemployment and lack of education and possibilities, especially for women in northern Ghana. In this context, Kayaye can be a way for people with a strong will to stand on their own feet and earn money for themselves and their families. It can also be a way for young people to detach themselves from their families’ powerful and sometimes constricting obligations, and thus have the opportunity to act on their own and become more independent. While these young people are not completely separated from their families, by being far from home they gain distance from the challenges and authoritarian power of the elders, which can create pressures in everyday life. This is seen for example in the case of young girls and women who do not want to marry, or those who wish to leave their husbands or meet freely with men of their own age. The exhibition aims to show social problems through a different lens presenting another side of Africa from what is usually shown in mainstream media. The language is poetic, the images are aesthetic and the women are powerful.

This exhibition is part of a series of activities of the Sababas project, including music and videoperformances in Århus Music House on the Raggapak Festival, in the Vega Lounge, TrailerParkFestival, Karrierebar and others.

In cooperation with HeartRebels www.heartrebels.com and The Danish Culture Institute. The project is supported by: Danish Arts Council, Danish Center for Culture and Development, The Danish Music Union and Brandstrup Travels. 

 

DANSK:

Udstillingen Kayaye er opstået ud af et samarbejde mellem de visuelle kunstnere Gillion Grantsaan, Tahid Abu, Abdul-Hameed Ibrahim og Bettina Fürstenberg.

På åbningsdagen vil der være unplugged Sababas performance med nogle af Nordghanas mest bemærkelsesværdige musikere.

Samt: En videoinstallation som går direkte i kroppen. Musik, film, effekter og æstetiske finurligheder leder beskueren ind i værket. Med en utraditionel skildring af "Kayaye".

"Kayaye" er navnet på de, hovedsagelige kvinder, fra Nord Ghana, der rejser mod Syd, de fleste ender i hovedstaden Accra, hvor de arbejder som daglejere med at bære ting for folk. Som en slags menneskelige 3 x 34 bærer de stortset alt der kan bæres.

Kayaye er et fænomen, der udspringer af fattigdom, arbejdsløshed og manglende uddannelse og fremtidsperspektiver, især for kvinder, i Nord Ghana. Det at blive Kayaye kan i den sammenhæng være en måde hvorpå personer med en stærk vilje, kan komme til at stå på egne ben og tjene penge til dem selv og deres familier. Det kan desuden være en måde hvorpå unge kan løsrive sig fra deres familiers stærke og til tider snærende bånd, og derved få mulighed for at handle på egen hånd og blive mere selvstændige. Disse unge løsriver sig ikke altid helt fra familien, men de udfordrer og løsner den autoritære magt de ældre i familien kan have over dem i dagligdagen, ved at være langt væk hjemmefra. Dette ses ofte hos unge piger og kvinder, der ikke vil giftes, vil væk fra deres mand eller vil mødes frit med mænd på deres egen alder.

Udstillingen stiler mod at vise sociale problematikker ud fra en anden optik og med andre billeder fra Afrika end dem man oftest præsenteres for i medierne.

Sproget er poetisk, billederne æstetiske og kvinderne kraftfulde.