Zeitz MOCAA is hosting a sonic engagement with Neo Muyanga, a renowned South African composer and sound artist.
Neo Muyanga. Courtesy of Zeitz MOCAA.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is excited to present a unique sonic engagement with acclaimed South African composer and sound artist, Neo Muyanga, on Friday, 14 July 2023, from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm SAST. Experience the power of sound and art come together in an immersive and transformative journey through Black figuration in painting, guided by Muyanga’s evocative sonic design. This interactive event will take place on Level 3 of the museum and is part of the programming for the exhibition ‘When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting’.
Neo Muyanga is a highly regarded composer and installation artist hailing from Soweto, South Africa. Having co-founded the critically acclaimed acoustic guitar duo, BLK Sonshine with Masauko Chipembere, Muyanga has collaborated with renowned artists such as William Kentridge, Paco Pena, and the Handspring Puppet Company. His work navigates new opera, improvisation, and African idiomatic song, and his research and performance interests include investigations and explorations of the aesthetics of protest song. with a specific focus on opera within the Black community in South African and more broadly concerning the history of musical storytelling in the global south.
During the sonic engagement, Muyanga will offer insights into his compilation of the sonic design accompanying the ‘When We See Us’ exhibition. “Participants will have the opportunity to engage in deep listening as they traverse the exhibition’s various rooms, immersing themselves in Muyanga’s sonic landscape. Additionally, Muyanga will lead a discussion on music from the past century, exploring diverse Black geographies and their cultural significance,” says Tandazani Dhlakama, co-curator of When We See Us, and Curator at Zeitz MOCAA.
‘When We See Us’ celebrates the resilience, essence, and political charge of Black joy. Organised around six themes – The Everyday, Joy and Revelry, Repose, Sensuality, Spirituality, and Triumph and Emancipation – the exhibition highlights the rise of figurative painting by Black artists, uncovering hidden historic contexts and networks that form an underrepresented genealogy stemming from African and Black modernities. The sonic engagement offers a unique opportunity to engage intimately with the work of Neo Muyanga and delve deeper into the themes of the When We See Us exhibition.
‘When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting’ and its accompanying programming, including its eponymous publication, has been made possible through the generous support of our presenting sponsor, Gucci. For more information, please visit Zeitz MOCAA.
