We are pleased to announce that Bwo Art’s co-founder and independent art curator Brice Arsene Yonkeu was invited by The Black Googler Network, a group of Google employees dedicated to fueling inclusion at Google, to curate an exhibition on the occasion of the Black History Month of Google France which took place in October. Titled Still I Rise, the group exhibition will be on view at Google’s headquarters in Paris from December 5th through December 9th, 2022.

Featuring 8 contemporary artists of African heritage based between France and Africa mainly, the exhibition intends to spark transformative dialogues internally stemming from the contributions of these artists whose works celebrate Black Culture and Black History globally. “Still I Rise, inspired by Maya Angelou’s acclaimed poem of the same title, is also and mainly a moment for us” said Brice Arsène Yonkeu. “It is a moment during which we regroup to honor each other, to celebrate our achievements in spite of the odds and our singular backgrounds, and most importantly to take up space and amplify our stories as we pay tributes to all those who paved the way for us to be standing where we are.”

Thandiwe Muriu, Camo 11 (2021), Photography, jet ink on fine art paper, courtesy of the artist.

Artist highlights for the inaugural event include the participation of  Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux, Rakajoo, Thandiwe Muriu, Johanna Mirabel, Deladem Duvi & Christine Boateng, Djibril Drame and Merveille Kelekele Kelekele. The artists featured in this exhibition investigate through their practices the intersections between race and space, gender, class and/or history. In their own artistic language, they explore history (collective or personal) and/or the present to either create powerful new narratives with their people at the center, or to reclaim what is theirs but was stolen or long forgotten. 

At the private opening of the exhibition, a cocktail reception will be held in the Google Arts & Culture Center’s laboratory. During this event, the actress Sophy Aiida will perform the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and the film “Oko ke Akueteh” by the budding directors Deladem Duvi and Christine Boateng will be screened.

Expected to attend the opening are actors from the art world and tech world based in, or visiting Paris.

CURATOR: Brice Arsène Yonkeu
ASSISTANT CURATOR: Maud Ntonga

For press inquiries or general inquiries, please contact:
brice@bwoart.com