Works by painter Manyaku Mashilo, visual activist Zanele Muholi, and ceramic sculptor Zizipho Poswa will be part of the upcoming exhibition, Africa Supernova, held at Kunsthal KAde in Amersfoort, Netherlands. It opens on 24 September 2023 and will run until 7 January 2024.

The group show will feature pieces by 125 artists from 33 African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa and others – all of which are part of the extensive collection of Dutch collectors, Pieter and Carla Schulting.

The exhibition presents a large cross-section of the collection, showing how diverse, complex and promising the artistic development of contemporary African art is. The couple, who have been collecting for over 30 years, focus mainly on contemporary paintings from Africa and its diaspora, however the collection also includes photographs and sculpture.

With a focus on young artists, the presentation is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of African art, but rather an anthology from an emerging art scene that has gained an increasingly prominent place in the international art sphere in recent years. “We want this exhibition to provide an overview of the young artists who are now putting Africa on the global art map. We think that when you look back in twenty years, this period will be a part of art history.” says Pieter Schulting.

Nigerian curator Azu Nwagbogu, who will be curating the Benin pavilion for next year’s Venice Biennale and whose essay appears in the 232-page catalogue accompanying the show, devised its title. “The title Africa Supernova reflects on how in recent years the art of the African continent has taken the global art world by storm, much like an explosion. We are only just beginning to discover what the African continent has in store for us.” explains Carla Schulting.

Other participating artists include Mary Sibande (South Africa), Stacey Gillian Abe (Uganda), Tyna Adebowale (Nigeria), Wole Lagunju (Nigeria) and Thandiwe Muriu (Kenya).