Based on original text by Tine Aelter
Until August 2025, Bozar is hosting the exhibition When We See Us. Initiated by the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings (CLIC), VUB has joined as an academic partner, thereby contributing to the thematic depth of the exhibition through scholarly insights. As part of this partnership, the University Library offers a carefully curated selection of books at the exhibition’s reading table, freely accessible to visitors. Several of these titles are also available in a dedicated reading area at the Central Library in Etterbeek.
This groundbreaking exhibition presents around 150 works by approximately 120 African artists, offering a vibrant and kaleidoscopic overview of pan-African figurative painting from 1920 to the present. Inspired by Ava DuVernay's Netflix series When They See Us, it invites visitors to explore themes of African self-representation and global Black subjectivity. The artworks are organised around six thematic pillars: The Everyday, Celebration and Joy, Rest, Sensuality, Spirituality, and Triumph and Emancipation. These themes create a colourful and nuanced portrayal of life, resilience, and creativity within African and diasporic communities. Curated by Koyo Kouoh, Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, alongside co-curator Tandazani Dhlakama, the exhibition aims to foster dialogue on Black liberation and intellectual movements. Kouoh passed away unexpectedly in May 2025.
The collaboration between Bozar and VUB creates a dynamic exchange between art and academia. This partnership enriches the exhibition, encouraging visitors to engage both visually and intellectually with the themes presented. Supported by VUB’s research and literature, When We See Us offers an experience that is as thought-provoking as it is visually striking—inviting reflection on the past, present, and future of Black self-representation.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
