In The Ease of Fiction, works by four contemporary African artists living in the United States serve as a foundation for a critical discussion about history, fact, and fiction.

Recent paintings, drawings, and sculptural works by ruby onyinyechi amanze (b. 1982, Nigeria), Duhirwe Rushemeza (b. 1977, Rwanda), Sherin Guirguis (b. 1974, Egypt), and Meleko Mokgosi (b. 1981, Botswana) explore power, memory, personal agency, and play.

The exhibition’s title evokes the idea that people are often more comfortable accepting or believing what is told to them by those in power, rather than challenging and investigating the authenticity of information presented as historical fact. Interweaving their personal experiences and memories into broader historical contexts, these artists create works that are in strident opposition to passive acceptance. The artists’ cultural backgrounds and geographic diversity offer a provocative examination of varied perspectives of the truth. Although these artists are from four different African countries their work addresses universal issues that are relevant across all borders.

This exhibition is organized by the Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh | CAM Raleigh and curated by independent curator Dexter Wimberly. CAAM’s presentation is organized by Mar Hollingsworth, Visual Arts Curator and Program Manager.

The Ease of Fiction is made possible by generous support from AV Metro, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Citrix, Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby’s International Real Estate, and the Betty Eichenberger Adams Society. CAM Raleigh is funded in part by the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Art Commission.

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Exhibition Programs

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Thursday, October 20, 2016 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
In Conversation: The Ease of Fiction
Location: Art + Practice, 4339 S. Leimert Blvd, Los Angeles
This special edition of In Conversation takes place at Art + Practice in Leimert Park and brings together artists ruby onyinyechi amanze, Meleko Mokgosi, Duhirwe Rushemeza, and Sherin Guirguis with exhibition curator Dexter Wimberly on the occasion of the opening of The Ease of Fiction. Through a conversation about the exhibition’s themes and the artists’ works the panelists will uncover shared trajectories among their diverse practices.

Click here to RSVP or call 213.744.2024.

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Saturday, November 19, 2016 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
African Tales
Storytelling preserves our history, traditions, and ideas and brings them to life. Inspired by The Ease of Fiction, bring your family to hear wonderful folk tales from Nigeria, Botswana, Egypt, and Rwanda told by master storyteller Michael D. McCarty.

Click here to RSVP or call 213.744.2024.

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Thursday, December 1, 2016 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
In Conversation: Sherin Guirguis and Anuradha Vikram
Join Los Angeles-based artist Sherin Guirguis and curator/writer Anuradha Vikram for a conversation exploring how issues of social structures can be addressed through abstraction. Guirguis’s work in The Ease of Fiction combines traditional Middle Eastern sacred geometry with Western abstraction and minimalist languages. Vikram is artistic director at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica and senior lecturer in the Graduate Public Practice program at Otis College of Art and Design.

Click here to RSVP or call 213.744.2024.

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www.caamuseum.org