Grada Kilomba, Illusions Vol. III, Antigone, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Grada Kilomba, Illusions Vol. III, Antigone, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.

Press release -

Opening at Bildmuseet: Grada Kilomba / A World of Illusions

Bildmuseet, Sweden, presents Grada Kilomba’s first solo exhibition in Scandinavia; a trilogy of poetic film installations that use antique dramas to highlight postcolonial issues of racism, gender oppression and violence.

In Grada Kilomba’s trilogy Illusions, we find the familiar stories of Narcissus and Echo, Oedipeus and Antigone in new versions performed by mime artists. The exhibition at Bildmuseet is the premiere of the third chapter of the trilogy, and the three large scale video works are thereby being exhibited together for the very first time.

You are invited to a press preview on Thursday 10 October at 10:00 (RSVP). Grada Kilomba will be present together with the actor and producer Moses Leo. The exhibition will be inaugurated in the evening of Friday 11 October with a conversation between the artist and Katarina Pierre, director and curator.

In her poetic film installations, Grada Kilomba combines performance, theatre, choreography, and music. She reworks ancient Greek myths and stages them together with mime artists. Drawing inspiration from African oral traditions, she takes on the role of a contemporary Griot, a storyteller who lets the classic tales speak directly on the current political issues. The precision of the artistic expression combined with its urgent message make Kilomba one of today’s most interesting artists.

Illusions Vol. III: Antigone (2019), is produced for and by Bildmuseet in collaboration with the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin. This new commission is exhibited together with Illusions Vol. I, Narcissus and Echo, which was produced for the Bienal de São Paulo 2016, and Illusions Vol. II, Oedipus, which was co-produced by Bildmuseet for the Berlin Biennale in 2018.­

Grada Kilomba (b. 1968, Lisbon) is based in Berlin.Her work has been presented at Documenta 14, Kassel (2017); 10. Berlin Biennale (2018); 32. Bienal de São Paulo (2016); Rauma Biennal Balticum (2016); Pinacoteca de São Paulo;The Power Plant, Toronto; MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon; Kadist Art Foundation, Paris; e-flux, New York; WdW Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam; Secession Museum, Vienna; Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lissabon; PAC Milano; Bozar Museum, Brussels; SAVYY Contemporary, Berlin; Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin. Kilomba has a doctoral degree in philosophy and has taught at multiple universities, most recently at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her collection of short stories Plantation Memories: Episodes of Everyday Racism (2008) has been printed in 5 editions so far.

The exhibition Grada Kilomba / A World of Illusions is produced by Bildmuseet and curated by director Katarina Pierre. In 2020, it will be supplemented with a publication on the Illusions trilogy, including the scripts of the three pieces, new texts by Paul Goodwin and Gabi Ngcobo and a conversation between Grada Kilomba and Katarina Pierre.

Illusions Vol. III, Antigone (2019) is produced with the support from Goethe-Institut Schweden and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Press Preview | Thursday 10 October 10:00–12:00. RSVP.

Exhibition Opening | Friday 11 October 17:00–21:00.

Press images | www.bildmuseet.umu.se/press-images

For further information, please contact
Katarina Pierre, museum director and curator
katarina.pierre@umu.se, +46 90-786 96 32

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Bildmuseet is one of Sweden's formost venues för international contemporary art, a part of Umeå University and the public heart of its arts campus. In seven floors of striking architecture, art, humanities and science meet across the urgent issues of our time. Bildmuseet is a place for critical encounters and conversations on art, society and existence.

The exhibitions are produced in collaboration with artists, museums and universities around the world and often attract both national and international attention. As a visitor, you are invited to take part in guided tours and creative workshops, listen to artist talks, debates, lectures and live music, watch film screenings and attend other events, all with free admission.

Housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design and Umeå School of Architecture, Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University – a multifaced university where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the universty's cornerstone. It is one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 32,000 students and 4,200 employees.

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Helena Vejbrink

Helena Vejbrink

Communication officer Bildmuseet +46 90 786 9073

Umeå University

Umeå University is a comprehensive university and one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with around 38,000 students and 4,600 staff. We have a diverse range of high-quality educational programmes and research within all disciplinary domains and the arts. Umeå University is also where the groundbreaking CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool was discovered, starting a revolution in genetic engineering that led to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The University has an international atmosphere and centres its work around core academic values. Our tightly knit campus makes it easy to meet, collaborate and share knowledge, something that encourages a dynamic and open culture where we celebrate each other’s successes. Umeå University prides itself in offering a world-class educational and research environment and expanding knowledge of global significance, where the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030 inspire and motivate. We have creative and innovative research environments that offer the best potential for taking on the challenges facing society. Through long-term collaborations with organisations, industry and other higher education institutions, the University is helping northern Sweden become a knowledge region. The societal transformation and the massive investments currently occurring in northern Sweden create complex challenges but also opportunities. Umeå University is focused on conducting research about and within a society in transition and continuing to offer academic programmes for regions that need to expand quickly and sustainably.

Campus Umeå and the Umeå Arts Campus are close to the city centre and next to one of Sweden’s largest and most renown university hospitals. Education is also provided in several other towns, including Skellefteå, Örnsköldsvik, Lycksele and Kiruna. Umeå University is home to the highly ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified School of Business, Economics and Law, and the School of Architecture, the only one in Sweden with an artistic profile. Next door is Bildmuseet, which is Umeå’s contemporary art museum, and Curiosum, Umeå’s science centre. Umeå University is one of Sweden’s five national sports universities, has an internationally leading Arctic Research Centre, and has Várdduo, which is Sweden’s only research unit for Sámi research and indigenous research.

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