Art. Community. Diversity.
POC POC MANIFESTO
POC POC MANIFESTO @DE BRAKKE GROND
POC POC MANIFESTO @DE BRAKKE GROND
What challenges do People Of Color (POC) face when navigating the art world? The Constant Now created the POC POC MANIFESTO to share experiences and insights amongst POC, building a supportive and dynamic community within the arts. Initially part of its POC POC mentoring program, it has become an engaging public event that introduces fresh voices through new panellists and active audience participation.
Following previous editions at FOMU and Kunsthal Gent, the MANIFESTO now heads to Amsterdam's de Brakke Grond as part of the vibrant RIGHTABOUT NOW Festival, which celebrates theatre, hip-hop, music, club culture, dance, film, exhibitions, and more, with both emerging and established artists.
Join us on Friday, December 6, from 16:30 to 17:30, for a powerful conversation with a diverse panel—artist Kevin Osepa, curator Rita Ouédraogo (Buro Stedelijk), and curator Aude Christel Mgba (Museum de Fundatie)—moderated by Magali Elali. This free event invites you to share your perspectives and help shape the MANIFESTO into a continuously evolving dialogue. If you're curious or want to participate, join us live at De Brakke Grond.
Panelists:
Kevin Osepa (artist), Rita Ouédraogo (curator Buro Stedelijk)
Aude Christel Mgba (curator Museum de Fundatie)
Moderator:
Magali Elali (Founder,The Constant Now)
More info on the panelists
The mentors
Kevin Osepa is a visual artist working with film and photography, delving into themes of Afro-spirituality, queerness, and post-colonial existence. Through personal and generational stories, he employs rituals and mysticism to foster collective healing and a deeper understanding of both personal and collective identity in his birthplace. Osepa’s work is housed in prestigious collections such as the ING Collection, the Rijkscollection, and the collection of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Notably, he was nominated for the Volkskrant Beeldende Kunst Prijs and awarded the Golden Calf for Best Short Film at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2022.
Photo by Kevin Osepa
Rita Ouédraogo is a curator, researcher, and writer based in Amsterdam. She continuously develops experimental and collaborative projects and public programs focusing on collaboration, archives, (de)colonialism, the African diaspora, institutional power, counter-culture, popular culture, and social issues. She holds an MSc in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology from the University of Amsterdam. Ouédraogo has worked on various projects aimed at broadening access to museum collections and has also worked on projects outside institutional structures. She researches questions related to cooperation and solidarity, examining modes of collaborative practices across power differentials, especially within a decolonial framework. She is the co-founder and current curator of Buro Stedelijk, the project space of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam—a place to discover Amsterdam’s dynamic and progressive art scene.
Photo by Eva Roefs
Aude Christel Mgba is an independent curator and art historian based between Cameroon and the Netherlands. She is currently the curator of contemporary art at the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle and an advisor for the Kadist Collection. Mgba engages with decoloniality through research projects and creating platforms that aim to transcribe, translate, and embody ancestral knowledge. Her curatorial experiences include collaborations that question forms of making and showing art, which tend to be centered within art institutions and art workers. She is particularly interested in collaborations that expand beyond these spaces to embrace other communities. Mgba was the founder and coordinator of Rencontre (2014-2016), an exchange platform focusing on the work of art professionals from the contemporary art scene in Cameroon. Before moving to the Netherlands, she worked as a curator at the Centre of Contemporary Art Doual’art in Douala (2017-2018). Among many projects, Mgba was the assistant curator for the 4th edition of the triennial SUD (Salon Urbain de Douala) (2017), co-curator of Sonsbeek 20->24 (2019-2022), co-curator of the Hartwig Art Foundation Special Project (2020-2021), curator of the Curated section of Art X Lagos (2021), curator of the Prix Region Sud in Marseille (2022), and artistic director of Luleåbiennialen in Norrbotten, Sweden (2024).
Photo by Hans van Eijsden
Magali Elali is a curator focused on experimental, collaborative projects that promote diversity and social engagement in the arts. Trained as an Art Historian at the University of Ghent and Cultural Manager at the University of Antwerp, she has worked as an assistant curator at W139 and MU.ZEE, as well as in cultural policy for the city of Antwerp and the University of Antwerp before moving into journalism and creative production. Motivated by the need for greater representation of artists of color, she founded The Constant Now, a nomadic non-profit supporting artists of color through exhibitions, talks, and projects. Her POC POC MANIFESTO, which fosters dialogue on navigating the art world as a person of color, has been hosted at FOMU and Kunsthal Gent. The Constant Now’s mentoring program, POC POC, connects emerging artists of color with established professionals. Elali has initiated collaborations with institutions such as NW Aalst, Extra City, S.M.A.K., M HKA, Antwerp Art, and WECANDANCE, and freelances as a curator for Museum Hof van Busleyden.
