‘Mashup’ is an exhibition of artworks by contemporary artists from Africa generated during the research project ‘Mash up the Archive’ which has taken place at Iwalewahaus in Bayreuth over the last two years. The project has so far been accompanied by two “Mash up the archive-Festivals” in 2012 and 2013 and is being financially supported by ‘Kulturstiftung des Bundes’ and ‘Oberfranken-stiftung’. The concept of the project has been developed by the Kenyan curator Sam Hopkins and being realised at Iwalewahaus in Bayreuth.
At the core of the project are a series of four artist residencies in which six visual artists were invited to explore the diverse archive of African Art housed at the Iwalewahaus, and develop new artworks in response to this cultural production. The artworks which have been developed present a series of distinct and considered approaches to the archival material.