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Photographic archives in African countries lying south of the Sahara have for some years been a focus of attention not only in international academic discussions but also for the global art market. At the same time, cultural collective visual memory in the period between the colonial era and the “postcolonial age” is increasingly being dealt with in artistic and curatorial practice. As the archives find their way into these different realms, the existing systems for organising and categorising them are not only being examined but in many cases energised too. This has given rise to new archives that conform to their own political and aesthetic parameters.In light of these processes and perspectives, Crossing Archives will hold three panel discussions to address the photographic archives of various geopolitical areas in African countries south of the Sahara. Aside from discussions tackling the larger picture, there will be a specific thematic focus on the situation in Nigeria. This will be addressed in its own panel and complemented by presentations drawn from archival and conservatorial practice in state institutions and private initiatives.The conference is organised by the Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, Lagos, and supported by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, LagosThis event is free.Contact for further information and admission:Goethe-Institut NigeriaCity Hall, Lagos Island, Lagos, NigeriaTel. +234 1 7746888info@lagos.goethe.orgwww.goethe.de/nigeriaReceptions byMichael Derus, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, LagosMarc-André Schmachtel, director, Goethe-Institut, LagosHans-Jürgen Lechtreck, Museum Folkwang, Essen, GermanyIntroductory remarks by Kerstin Meincke, curator of VoyageRetour, Museum Folkwang, Essen, GermanyKeynote by Okwui Enwezor, director, Haus der Kunst, Munich, GermanyPanelists (confirmed)Mathieu Zana Aziza Etambala, historian, University of Leuven, BelgiumChika Okeke-Agulu, art historian and curator, University of Princeton, New YorkBisi Silva, curator, Lagos, NigeriaSantu Mofokeng, visual artist and collector, South AfricaStorm Janse Van Rensburg, curator and researcher, Johannesburg, South Africa/ Berlin, GermanyEtim Eyo, Nigeria Nostalgia Project, LagosModerationFrank Ugiomoh, University of Port Harcourt, NigeriaKerstin Meincke, Museum Folkwang, Essen, GermanyConceptKerstin Meincke, Museum Folkwang, Essen, GermanyPanel discussion: Photography, archives and international RelationsPanelists (confirmed)Michael Derus, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, LagosHans Hielscher, picture editor, Deutsche Welle, Nigeria/ Der Spiegel, Hamburg, GermanyMarc-André Schmachtel, director, Goethe-Institut, LagosConceptConsulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lagos and the Goethe-Institut, Lagos---Ce colloque fait partie de l'exposition Voyage Retour :Voyage Retour is the title of a new exhibition, the first to be staged by the Museum Folkwang in a country lying south of the Sahara. As part of the project, the Nigerian city of Lagos will host a show presenting pictures by the internationally renowned Nigerian photographer J. D. ’Okhai Ojeikere alongside works by Rolf Gillhausen, Germaine Krull, Robert Lebeck, Malick Sidibé and Wolfgang Weber drawn from the Museum Folkwang’s collection. Voyage Retour brings together images by European and African photographers that bear the unmistakable marks of the various sociopolitical conditions that channelled their expression. There is a particular focus here on the period of decolonisation. With a view to extending the frame of reference, the show also includes numerous allusions to the original contexts in which the exhibits were produced and received.The exhibition’s venue, the federal government press building constructed in 1896 under the auspices of British colonial rule, can be seen as both a presentation space and one of the conceptual starting points of the project. Numerous relics from the past still evoke the building’s historical usage—it was used to house the state photographic archive into the mid-1990s and until ten years ago the official government gazettes were printed here—and these reminders are systematically incorporated into the exhibition’s concept and design. Voyage Retour picks up on this history and seeks to create a productive crossover space, intended as a platform for new discussions. The exhibition is designed with a particular eye to the specific conditions that pertain in the African countries south of the Sahara. It is against this background that a final colloquium will be held with an international panel discussing overarching questions relating to the perspective, function and significance of photographic archives for society and artistic practice.An exhibition project presented by the Photography Department at the Museum Folkwang, Essen in cooperation with Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria.The exhibition is sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office.---(Source : le site du Museum Folkwang Essen)