Incredible Women of 2024: Art Curator Aindrea Emelife
Next in our Incredible Women of 2024 series – in which we celebrate the trailblazers whose talent, energy and impact are defining the year – is curator and art historian AINDREA EMELIFE. Here, she speaks to FRANCINE HEATH about curating the Nigeria Imaginary exhibition for the Venice Biennale, and supporting less visible voices in an art world that’s finally ready to listen
“I guess we should start by talking about the big thing that’s just around the corner,” says Aindrea Emelife as she dials into our call from Lagos. ‘The big thing’, of course, is the upcoming Venice Biennale, for which she is curating the Nigeria Pavilion. And while her tone may be playful, the enormity of what it means to represent a nation at this level is still at the front of her mind.
“The Biennale is one of the most important global stages for showing art, so it is a massive, massive project,” she says, revealing that preparations started with “full gusto” in March 2023, and she spent most of her time glued to calls or buried beneath stacks of books. “The task felt even bigger initially, knowing that this platform has traditionally focused on curators more senior than myself,” she shares. “But I decided to spin my thinking and positively build my youth into the theme of Nigeria Imaginary, rather than apologize for it.”
Yes, Emelife is only 30, but lacking in experience or successes? Her resumé states otherwise. She is currently curator of modern and contemporary art at MOWAA (Museum of West African Art), having produced a number of acclaimed exhibitions for museums, galleries and private collections internationally – most notably, Black Venus. Displayed at London’s Somerset House and Fotografiska New York, Black Venus explored the history of Black women in art. It received rave reviews and helped to solidify Emelife’s name as one to know in the art world. What’s more, her credentials are multi-hyphenate: she is also an art historian who studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a critic who has been flexing her writing muscles ever since penning her first column for the British daily newspaper the Financial Times at the age of 20.
“Whilst it seems like it was easy for me to be a part of the curatorial landscape, it was actually incredibly difficult – but I think the art world is starting to finally believe that it benefits from different voices
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In every aspect of her work, championing underrepresented voices has been a key focus for Emelife. Of the eight artists she chose to feature in this year’s Nigeria Pavilion, four are female and one is non-binary. “I really wanted to champion those voices in a place that is still very patriarchal,” she explains. “I also wanted my choice of artists to be diverse, so that the history they look back on is also diverse and we don’t fall into the trap of telling just one story of Nigeria,” she adds. “Everyone has very different experiences of Nigeria, and I think that will really give a richness to the exhibition.”
She credits how collaborative the creative minds have been throughout the process in bringing it all together. “It has been a very close-knit development and I have chosen an incredible cohort of artists,” she says. “I think all their different points of view touch on different ideas that, together, really paint an interesting history and potential for Nigeria.” Moving away from the assumption of art being just paintings or sculptures, the exhibition will celebrate a wide range of mediums – “from installations to sound art; film photography to augmented reality”.
Venice Biennale opens to the public in April, so what does Emelife have her sights set on next? She reels off a list of projects, ambitions and desires. “I have been working on a book that relates to my show Black Venus for the past four years and I’m nearing completion on that, which feels like another really big milestone,” she says. The idea of creating a documentary series looking at art history in Africa also piques her interest, along with doing her PhD.
“I would also like to do something that gives back,” she shares, considering that she wants to build on the way she has often acted as an unofficial mentor throughout her career. “Whilst it seems like it was easy for me to be a part of the curatorial landscape, it was actually incredibly difficult – but I think the art world is starting to finally believe that it benefits from different voices,” she says. “So, if I can support new voices at this time – especially Black women curators, or any curators who I feel are less visible – and help them get into this field, that would be an amazing thing to do; because other people helped me along the way. I ought to pay it back.”
Venice Biennale opens to the public on April 20 and runs until November 24