Conference with Bambi Ceuppens

In this conference, Bambi Ceuppens will present an analysis of the Colonial Exhibitions held in Porto, in 1934, and in Brussels, in 1958, focusing on the problem of human zoos and the ethical implications of these events in the contemporary era. The session will be moderated by Nuno Coelho.

Bambi Ceuppens holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and works as a senior researcher and curator at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Belgium). Her research focuses on the Belgian-Congolese past, Congolese arts and culture and decoloniality. She played a crucial role in renovation of RMCA which reopened doors in 2018 with a new focus on contemporary Africa, adopting a critical retrospective of the colonial past. Recently, she co-curated the exhibitions Congo Art Works: Popular Painting (BOZAR, Belgium, 2016– 2017; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2017) and Congo Stars (Kunsthaus Graz, Austria, 2018; Kunsthalle Tübingen, Germany, 2019). She teaches Anthropology of the Arts at KASK School of Arts and at Saint Lucas School of Arts (Belgium).

Nuno Coelho is a designer, curator, professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra and a researcher at CEIS20 – Department of Informatics Engineering of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra. With a PhD in Contemporary Art, He has been working on topics related to identity and memory by exploring the visual imagery of historic Portuguese trademarks.He is a member of the Rampa association. He has recently curated and organised collective design exhibitions and public conferences and has two books published.

Photography: Luis Moreira