We Are Afrika: The Power of Women and Youth is an online exhibition, curated by the World Bank Group, which explores the work of established and emerging artists from across the African continent—from Botswana and Eswatini in Southern Africa, to Sierra Leone in West Africa, to Tanzania and the Seychelles in Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean.
This exhibition has been launched by four World Bank departments—the Office of the Executive Director of Africa Group 1, Vice Presidencies of the Africa Region, Gender Global Practice, and World Bank Art Program. It investigates what progress means in different African contexts and presents thought-provoking visions of Africa’s future.
We Are Afrika highlights the World Bank’s focus on climate change and the development of the Africa Human Capital Plan. It was created by the World Bank in 2019, with targets and commitments to boost Sub-Saharan Africa’s potential through its human capital—the health, knowledge, skills, and resilience of its people. Seeing young people as Africa’s greatest resource, and its key to prosperity in a globalized, rapidly digitizing economy, the Human Capital Plan inspired We Are Afrika to focus on young voices.
Contemporary African Art at the World Bank
The World Bank’s Vice Presidencies for the Africa Region and the Art Program had joined forces before, over a decade ago, to challenge the stereotypical image of Africa with a groundbreaking exhibition, Africa Now! Emerging Talents from a Continent on the Move. This provided a platform for many young artists—among them, Angele Essamba from Cameroon, Freddy Tsimba from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Lolo Veleko from South Africa. These artists were just emerging then, but they now reach large audiences with their work.
Much has changed since the Africa Now! exhibition, and so today we’re presenting a virtual display of works with the same celebratory spirit and a contemporary spin. Today’s world is an interconnected one, where artists work in a field that’s expanded beyond painting, sculpture, and photography to include an array of media, including soundscapes, digital art, conceptual art, street art, and community-based art.
Wherever they live, artists play a role in engaging with culture, commenting on it, and interpreting it. And so our new exhibition, We Are Afrika: The Power of Women and Youth, is not limited to African artists living in Africa, nor to those working in traditional forms of visual art.
