Exhibitions

After the Mediterranean
Erola Arcalís, Adjoa Armah, Laia Estruch, artist collective Huniti Goldox, Omar Mismar, Sara Ouhaddou, Abi Shehu

‘What will become of the Mediterranean in the next geological epoch? What will the hundreds of migrants who venture across this sea every day find beyond it? What representations will replace the idea of a bucolic sea?’ – Oriol Fontdevila

Exhibition After the Mediterranean
Artists Erola Arcalís, Adjoa Armah, Laia Estruch, artist collective Huniti Goldox, Omar Mismar, Sara Ouhaddou, Abi Shehu
Date 02.04.2023 - 29.10.2023
Curator Oriol Fontdevila
Venue Hauser & Wirth Menorca
All images Courtesy by the artists and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Roberto Ruiz

‘After the Mediterranean’ is an exhibition curated by curator, writer and art researcher Oriol Fontdevila, which brings together seven artists whose work addresses the social and ecological challenges affecting the region: Erola Arcalís, Adjoa Armah, Laia Estruch, artist collective Huniti Goldox, Omar Mismar, Sara Ouhaddou and Abi Shehu.

The exhibition thus brings together a group of artists, many of whom originate from, work within or in relation to territories bordering the Mediterranean. This includes among others Spanish, Albanian, French Moroccan and Lebanese artists. They present existing and new works, the latter created through a residency programme taking place in Menorca over the winter often in collaboration with local makers such as ceramicists and weavers. A public programme runs alongside the exhibition, engaging learning institutions, local organisations and communities, as well as the general public.

‘After the Mediterranean’ conjures a diverse series of futures to address ideas around the human and ecological crises that currently impact the region. The exhibition questions, on the one hand, the idea of the Mediterranean as it has been—and continues to be—articulated: as a gentle, sunny sea, as an idyllic region with an equally tranquil way of life, as a place where cultures could coexist, trade and move around in harmony – in line with the tradition of critical thinking relying upon the work of historian Fernand Braudel.

‘Through their practice, the artists in the exhibition confront this legacy with the problems that have arisen from the current climate emergency, from post-colonialism and the Arab Spring, from successive migrations and the policies that prevent free movement across this sea’, Oriol Fontdevila has commented. At the same time, ‘After the Mediterranean’ introduces new thoughts and stories that testify to the human capacity to tackle the region’s challenges.

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