‘Memoria’ exhibition draws to a close at Fondation H in Madagascar capital
- 19 hours ago
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
After ten months on display (Apr 4, 2024 – Feb. 28, 2025), the itinerant and pan-African exhibition Memoria: récits d’un autre Histoire (Memoria: accounts of another History) came to a close in Fondation H in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Curated by Nadine Hounkpatin and Céline Seror, the show brought together approximately 40 works by 22 artists from 11 countries across Africa and its diasporas. Over 140,000 visitors discovered it.
Memoria: accounts of another History embodied the concept of a collective memory, composed of a multitude of accounts, histories, inquiries, and experiences interwoven within individual, personal, and intimate recollections. Fondation H marked the fourth stop of the exhibition, following Bordeaux (France, 2021), Abidjan (Céte d’Ivoire, 2022), and Yaoundé (Cameroon, 2023).
With each new destination, curators Hounkpatin and Seror attempted to redefine both the selection of artworks and the list of participating artists.The adaptive approach ensured the exhibition remained contextually relevant across diverse geographic and cultural landscapes. In Antananarivo, Memoria was specifically developed for the Malagasy context, in close collaboration with the Fondation H team and the local artistic community.
Through an extensive programme of creative residencies and production support, five Malagasy artists and seven international artists had the opportunity to develop new works in partnership with local artisans, further anchoring the exhibition within the Malagasy cultural and artistic fabric. The scale of its setting at Fondation H matched the works of the following artists: Joey Aresoa, Olivia Bourgois, Joana Choumali, Dalila Dalléas Bouzar, Justine Gaga, Enam Gbewonyo, Georgina Maxim, Tuli Mekondjo, Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, Myriam Mihindou, Joséfa Ntjam, Gosette Lubondo, Barbara Portailler, Selly Raby Kane, Miora Rajaonary, Amalia Ramanankirahina, Richianny Ratovo, Carine Ratovonarivo, Vonjiniaina Ratovonirina, Na Chainkua Reindorf, Mary Sibande, and Charlotte Yonga.
On September 21, 2024, Fondation H launched the exhibition catalogue for the show in Antananarivo. The 250-page trilingual publication (Malagasy/French/English) includes an introductory text by Hounkpatin, three analytical essays by Seror, Ludonie Velotrasina, and Ashraf Jamal, as well as 22 artwork descriptions authored by 12 contributors from Fondation H and the Malagasy literary scene.
The catalogue also features comprehensive artist biographies, extensive exhibition views and high-quality reproductions of featured works. To enhance visitor engagement, a dedicated activity guide, developed by the Fondation H team in collaboration with the exhibition’s curators, was made available free of charge to all attendees.
The Memoria exhibition successfully engaged a wide audience through guided tours, workshops, and a diverse range of public programmes. It’s over 140,000 visitors included more than 3,500 children. The 47 Saturdays of Fondation H — a weekly event held every Saturday morning featuring creative workshops, performances, discussions, and more — gathered over 1,250 participants in the course of the exhibition. Through the Ainga training programme, more than 100 artists and cultural professionals also benefited from support.
Launched in April 2022 by Fondation H, the Ainga programme aims to provide artists from the Indian Ocean region with a solid theoretical and practical foundation to develop and sustain their artistic careers. During the exhibition, Fondation H hosted eight training modules, featuring contributions from the exhibition’s curators and participating artists.
The sessions benefited over 100 artists and cultural professionals. Hounkpatin and Seror contributed to various Ainga training modules in 2024 and 2025. Hounkpatin conducted portfolio review sessions for some local artists and also led a masterclass titled The to-do list of a curator.
Franco-Algerian artist Dalila Dalléas Bouzar led a session on building an artistic approach, featuring an open studio with emerging artists. South African artist Mary Sibande conducted the masterclass regarding the artistic approach to the artwork production. To close the exhibition, a final training module on publishing in the art world, led by Seror, took place from February 26 to 28, 2025.
Marking the closing of the exhibition, Fondation H hosted a special event on March 1. It featured a discussion between Professor Jacqueline Ravelomanana, historian and lecturer specialising in the history of education, and Seror. Titled Des Mémoires silencieuses a I’Histoire partagée (From silent Memories to a shared History), the discussion explored key themes of the exhibition.
Following the discussion, the public was invited to take part in the workshop Collecter et partager les mémoires sur post-it (Collecting and sharing memories on post-it), inspired by Pensées au carré, a piece by French-Malagasy artist Barbara Portailler.
From April 11 to February 28, 2026, Fondation H has invited British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA for a carte blanche titled Safiotra (Hybridités/Hybridities), marking his first major showcase on the African continent. The exhibition will occupy the 2,200 square-metre Fondation H building in downtown Antananarivo.
The solo features artwork spanning 20 years of Shonibare’s career, including The African Library (2018), part of Fondation H’s permanent collection. The monumental installation comprises 6,000 books wrapped in Dutch wax print fabric, each embossed with the name of a personality who shaped postcolonial Africa.
The installation is complemented by a digital interface providing historical and biographical information about these figures. The exhibition also presents a series of iconic sculptures by Yinka Shonibare, such as Refugee Astronaut X (2024), created by the artist in the context of Madagascar.
It also includes works from his series Hydrid Mask and Hybrid Sculpture, three Decolonized Structures from Yinka Shonibare’s 2024 solo show at the Serpentine (London), and earlier works like Alien Man on Flying Machine (2011) and Alien Woman on Flying Machine (2011). Safiotra is enriched by a curated selection from the Fondation H collection, chosen by Shonibare.
