In Our Time, a series curated by Azu Nwagbogu and De Balie, brings together artists, thinkers, and cultural producers to explore how art can reaffirm its societal function beyond the confines of museums and collectors. With in this first episode: curator and author Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung.
In the lead-up to the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, entitled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, Azu Nwagbogu and Yoeri Albrecht, director of De Balie, engage in conversation with this year’s head curator, Bonaventure Ndikung. Both curators focus on nuanced, fragile, and in-depth works of art, often from the global African diaspora, and deeply rooted in indigenous knowledge systems. But how do you create a profound understanding of such works of art in a global art system built on inequalities? And how do you curate a true dialogue about decolonization, restitution, and reconciliation without falling into fallacies, echo chambers and highly polarized discussions that do not create meaningful discourse?
About In Our Time
Contemporary art faces significant challenges. Polarization, online echo chambers and the unchecked influence of tech giants and media moguls have led to an erosion of dialogue. An erosion that extends to the art world, where camps form and sides must be chosen, often at the expense of doubt and nuance.
The need for a revival of a dialogical approach in contemporary art discourse is more pressing than ever. The praxis of decolonization within museums, while well-intentioned, has often fallen short of achieving change. Museums of the twenty-first century suffer from an identity crisis, struggling to adapt to new societal demands while clinging to outdated structures. To address this, a critical dialogical approach can help museums navigate the tension between tradition and innovation, allowing for a more nuanced exploration of their role in contemporary society.
In Our Time, a series of talks and debates hosted at De Balie in Amsterdam, seeks to revitalize the spirit of dialectical discourse in art. Drawing inspiration from Melvyn Bragg’s BBC Radio 4 program and the logic of the Dig Where You Stand movement of the seventies, this initiative aims to create a platform for engaging discussions on social, contemporary, political, artistic, historical, philosophical, and scientific topics.
By encouraging public participation and fostering critical dialogue, In Our Time represents a vital effort to reestablish art as a space for truth-seeking and intellectual inquiry. This series is hosted by curator Azu Nwagbogu and Yoeri Albrecht, director of De Balie, Amsterdam.
Speakers
About the speakers
Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung (Cameroon) is a curator, author, and biotechnologist. He has curated exhibitions worldwide addressing themes such as migration, decolonization and the complexities of post-colonial Africa. Ndikung is currently artistic director and chief curator of Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt. He is the founder and was artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary Berlin, and among others artist director of Sonsbeeck (2020-2022), curator-at-large of documenta 14 (2017) and is the curator of the 34th Biennal de São Paolo (2025).
Azu NwagBogu (Nigeria) is internationally acclaimed curator. He is the founder and director of African Artists’ Foundation, and serves as Founder and Director of LagosPhoto Festival. Het is the creator of Art Base Africa, a virtual space to discover and learn about contemporary African Art. In 2024 he curated the first-ever Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, titled Everything Precious is Fragile.