Join us for a powerful and timely online conference that brings together artists, curators, scholars, and cultural workers from around the globe to critically examine the structures, narratives, and power dynamics that continue to shape the global art world.

“Reclaiming Cultural Roots” seeks to open a necessary dialogue on decolonization, questioning who gets to make art, who gets to define its value, and who is represented and remembered.

As the world reckons with its colonial past and present, this event aims to spotlight voices and practices that resist, reimagine, and redefine the cultural landscape. From challenging Eurocentric aesthetics to dismantling institutional gatekeeping, we invite you to explore how decolonial strategies are shaping the future of art.

This webinar conference is open to artists, activists, students, researchers, and anyone invested in cultural equity and transformation.

Key Topics of Discussion

1. Art Institutions and Colonial Legacies
   
   • How museums and galleries continue to reflect colonial hierarchies
     
   • The politics of acquisition, curation, and display
     
   • Repatriation and the ethics of ownership

      

2. Decolonial Aesthetics: Beyond the Western Canon
   • Valuing indigenous, diasporic, and non-Western artistic practices
   • Decentering Eurocentric art histories
   • Visual sovereignty and cultural self-representation

      

3. The Global South and the Contemporary Art Market
   • How art markets commodify marginalized identities
   • The politics of visibility, tokenism, and exoticization
   • Supporting sustainable, locally grounded art ecosystems

      

4. Decolonizing Art Education
   • Rewriting curricula in art schools and universities
   • Centering non-Western philosophies and practices
   • Empowering new generations of artists and educators

      

5. Radical Collaboration and Resistance
   • How artists and collectives are disrupting dominant narratives
   • Case studies of decolonial art initiatives and community-based practices
   • The role of digital platforms in creating equitable spaces

      

6. Future Visions: What Comes After Decolonization?
   • Envisioning post-colonial futures for art institutions
   • Intersectional solidarity in global cultural movements
   • The evolving role of the artist as activist, healer, and truth-teller

 

Why This Conversation Matters: Centering African Artists and Communities

The conversation around the decolonization of the art world is especially urgent and vital when it comes to Africa and its diaspora. For centuries, African creativity has been commodified, misrepresented, and often extracted without consent. From stolen artifacts displayed in Western museums to the erasure of African artistic philosophies in academic institutions, the legacy of colonialism continues to shape how African art is seen, valued, and contextualized on the global stage.

Today, many African artists are reclaiming their narratives, using their work to resist imposed identities and reframe how Africa is perceived—not as a monolithic continent or a source of “primitive” inspiration, but as a space of complex histories, rich aesthetics, and future-facing innovation.

Talking about these themes is crucial because:

1. Restoring Historical Justice
   Colonial powers stripped African communities of their cultural heritage, both physically (through looting) and symbolically (through devaluation of indigenous knowledge). Reclaiming that history is a step toward healing and justice.

    

2. Empowering African Voices in the Global Narrative
   African artists have often been viewed through a Western lens, rather than being allowed to define their own narratives. Decolonization shifts the center of authority back to the artists and communities themselves.

    

3. Challenging Tokenism and Gatekeeping
   While African art has gained more visibility in recent years, it’s often through selective and superficial inclusion. Real change means dismantling the systems that tokenize African artists and exclude local voices from meaningful decision-making in curatorial and academic spaces.

    

4. Supporting Local Ecosystems
   A decolonized approach prioritizes the development of sustainable art ecosystems within Africa—where artists are not forced to migrate or appeal to Western tastes to survive, but can thrive in their own contexts, on their own terms.

    

5. Reimagining Art Institutions
   From galleries to biennales, African-led institutions are redefining what art spaces can look like—grounded in community, tradition, resistance, and future-thinking. These spaces are not just alternatives; they are essential models for the global art world to learn from.

    

       6. Cultural Sovereignty and Identity
         For African communities, art is not just expression—it is history, spirituality,           language, and identity. To decolonize art is to affirm the right of people to             represent themselves, to hold their own truths, and to honor their ancestors through creativity.

To register at the Webinar send us an email to info@odbk.tk