Atlas of Uncertainty

Image: Aerial View of Diepsloot // Gallo Images 2022

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 invited 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.

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.

This webpage provides an overview of the application process which is now closed.

For any further queries please contact: carinakanbi@gmail.com

Timeline

The application process is now closed, if you have applied we will be in touch in early March.

*Please note timeline dates may be subject to change *

Downloads

We have some resources to help you with your application that you are welcome to use. Applications should not be limited to the provided information, nonetheless, they can serve as a guide.
The information pack includes the following (please click on the individual documents for access):
- Download 1 - The Atlas of Uncertainty project overview

- Download 2 - An academic paper from Professor Loren Landau that summarises some of the key themes

- Download 3 - Powerpoint presentation from the workshops

Collaborative partners:

AliguamDeus Qauris

Aliguam
Deus Qauris