Ep.8: From us, for us
Episode 8: FROM US, FOR US
Artists Ajara Alghali and Patrick Quarm discuss what their West African heritage teaches them about themselves, their community, and their art.
SHOW NOTES
ABOUT THE GUESTS
AJARA ALGHALI is a performance artist and thought leader at the intersection of dance and representation. Her artistic practice is in the classical West African discipline, blending her cultural grounding with expressive body movements. Alghali believes that music and dance are important modes of communication needed to nurture individuals, disseminate knowledge, and advance the culture. Through her artistry, she engages in the vital work of cultivating dancers and culture-keepers to create a community of stewards of the rich bodily history of West African dance. She is co-founder of TeMaTe Institute for Black Dance and Culture, which is actively re-framing traditional African dance as part of the classical dance canon. Alghali, holding a Master of Urban Planning from Wayne State University, is a cultural worker, urban planner, and anthropologist all in one. Her work is a fusion of life experiences from her Sierra Leonean-American roots and focuses on the connection between African people throughout the diaspora. Her cultural identities and perspectives define her guiding philosophy: there is inherent value in traditional practices and the informal ways people build community and share their history.
PATRICK QUARM (b. 1988, Ghana) Patrick Quarm graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana (2012) with a BFA in Painting and an MFA from Texas Tech University (2018). Currently living and working in Takoradi. Quarm’s practice explores identity, focusing on the notion of cultural hybridity and social evolution. His paintings weave and splice cultural signifiers from different eras and communities into multi-layered works. Quarm’s work has been showcased around the world at institutions including the Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI; K.N.U.S.T Museum Kumasi, Ghana; and the Caviel Museum of African American History, Lubbock, TX. He has participated in artist residency programs including Artist in Residence, Red Bull House of Art, Detroit, MI and NXTHVN, New Haven, CT. In September 2020, Quarm debuted his first solo exhibition in New York with albertz benda.