Renzo Martens (born 1973 in

Terneuzen Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland. History First mentione ...

) is a Dutch artist who currently lives and works in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. Martens became known for his controversial work, including Episode III: Enjoy Poverty (2008), a documentary that suggests that the Congo market their

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

as a

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

. In 2010 Renzo Martens initiated the art institut
Human Activities
that postulates a

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

program on a

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

plantation in the Congolese rainforest.

Biography

Renzo Martens studied Political Science at the

University of Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistently been included in ...

and art at the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent (, KASK) is an art school that is one of the oldest art schools in Belgium. It is a part of the Hogeschool Gent, a Belgium University college. History The Academy was founded in 1748 as a school for drawing ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and the

Gerrit Rietveld Academy The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History The Instituut voor Kuns ...

in Amsterdam. In 2010 Martens got approved as an artist-in-residence at the ISCP program in New York. In 2013 the artist attended the

Yale World Fellows Yale World Fellows is an international fellowship program at Yale University for rising global leaders. World Fellows come from around the world and from diverse disciplines. They are selected through a competitive application process. Each year ...

Program, the leadership program of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Martens is currently working on a PhD in the arts at the

in Ghent. Martens has given lectures on art, economy and representation at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, Goldsmiths (University of London), Städelschule Frankfurt, HEAD Genève,

KASK Kask or KASK may refer to: * Kask (surname) * Kask, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran * Kask, Zanjan, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran *Asta Kask Asta Kask is a Swedish punk band from Töreboda, Sweden, founded in 1978. Asta Kask pla ...

and

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia Museo may refer to: * ''Museum'' (2018 film), Mexican drama heist film *Museo station Museo is a Naples Metro station on Line 1. It opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. On 27 Ma ...

in Madrid. Renzo Martens and CATPC are the Dutch entry for the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

2024. The curator is Hicham Khalidi.

Work

Episode I

Martens made his first film, ''Episode I'', in 2000 in

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

, in Chechnya's war zones. The film is an atypical

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

in which footage of a war zone is mixed with a personal (love) story of the artist. Martens is in search of himself; with the camera self-centered, he questions the Chechens on what they think of him.

Episode III: Enjoy Poverty

''Episode III: Enjoy Poverty'' articulates a comment on the political claims of contemporary art by referring to its own strategy. This film opened the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

(IDFA) in 2009. The film was shown in art events and venues such as the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, The

Berlin Biennial The Berlin Biennale (full name: Berlin Biennale für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art) is a contemporary art exhibition, which has been held at various locations in Berlin, Germany, every two to three years since 1998. ...

, Manifesta 7, The Moscow Biennial,

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, 19th

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

and several film festivals. Azu Nwagbogu (Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation and Director of

Lagos Photo LagosPhoto Festival is the largest international photography festival in Nigeria and attracts over 20.000 visitors annually. Founded in 2010 by Azu Nwagbogu of the African Artists Foundation, the festival spotlights emerging and established phot ...

) called the film "The

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

of our time."

Human Activities

Martens is commissioned as the artistic director of the art institut
Human Activities
founded in 2012. HA's goal is to prove that artistic critique on economic inequality can also do something about this inequality materially, instead of only symbolically. Human Activities attempts to improve the lives of people around the art center by effectuating a 'reverse gentrification program'. Since 2014, it works in close collaboration with the

Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise CATPC, an acronym for ‘Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise’ in French translates to ‘Congolese Plantation Workers Art League’ in English. Founded in 2014 by a group of Congolese plantation workers in collaboration wit ...

(CATPC), a cooperative of plantation workers that develops new ecological initiatives based on the production of art. CATPC operates from a former

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

plantation, where they built a fully equipped arts center designed by OMA. The plantation workers who cannot earn a living from production labor, live off of their artistic engagement with plantation labor. The profits from the art sales are partly used to buy back the land, which has been exhausted after 100 years of

monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monocultures increase ease and efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting crops short-term, often with the help of machinery. However, monocultur ...

. Subsequently, a lot of work is done to make the land fertile and usable again. This way, the residents regain control of the means of production on the plantation.

Opening Seminar

In 2012, Human Activities organised an opening seminar on a palm oil plantation in Boteka, DR Congo. Congolese and international speakers gathered at the plantation to discuss the history of the plantation, gentrification, and the possibilities for art to deal meaningfully with the conditions of its own existence. For two days, two-hundred people from the local community participated in a conference with art historian

TJ Demos T.J. Demos is an art historian and cultural critic who writes on contemporary art and visual culture, particularly in relation to globalization, politics, migration and ecology. Currently a Professor in the Department of History of Art and Visual ...

, philosopher

Marcus Steinweg Marcus Steinweg (born 1971, in Koblenz) Marcus Steinweg is a German philosopher based in Berlin. His speciality is working between the fields of art and philosophy. He is an editor of the journal ''Inaesthetics''. Biography Steinweg has worked o ...

, activist René Ngongo, architect

Eyal Weizman Eyal Weizman MBE FBA (; born 1970) is a British Israeli architect. He is the director of the research agency Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London where he is Professor of Spatial and Visual Cultures and a founding director ...

, economist Jérome Mumbanza, curator Nina Möntmann, anthropologist Katrien Pype, and artist Emmanuel Botalatala. Urban theorist

Richard Florida Richard L. Florida (born 1957) is an American urban studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He is a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU's School of Profess ...

delivered the keynote lecture via satellite.

Exhibitions

Human Activities has facilitated the global dissemination of works by CATPC in the art world, which resulted in exhibitions in places such as the

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

in Eindhoven,

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art MIMA, or Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, is a contemporary art gallery based in the centre of Middlesbrough, England. The gallery was formally launched on Sunday, 27 January 2007; since 2014, it has been part of Teesside University. H ...

Artes Mundi Artes Mundi (Latin: ''arts of the world'') is an international arts organisation based in Cardiff, Wales. Established in 2002, it is committed to supporting international contemporary visual artists whose work engages with social reality and lived ...

in Cardiff, and Kunst-Werke in Berlin,

WIELS WIELS is a contemporary art centre in Forest, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium. The centre opened in 2007 in the former Blomme building, which belonged to the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery. It has three exhibition platforms with a total exhibit ...

in Brussels,

EYE Film Institute Netherlands Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in ...

in Amsterdam,

M HKA The Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (, commonly abbreviated as ''M HKA'', previously ''MuHKA'') is the contemporary art museum of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. Its current director is Bart de Baere. Overview The museum holds a permanent co ...

in Antwerp,

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...

Kunsthal Charlottenborg Kunsthal Charlottenborg is an exhibition building in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the official exhibition gallery of the Royal Danish Academy of Art. History Charlottenborg Palace was constructed in 1672–83 as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gy ...

in Copenhagen, Murray Art Museum Albury, the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

in Sydney,

Mori Art Museum The is a contemporary art museum founded by the real estate developer Minoru Mori. It is located in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, a commercial, cultural, and residential mega-complex in Tokyo, Japan. The museum's ...

in Tokyo, Hayy Jameel in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

an
KOW gallery
in Berlin. In January 2017, the cooperative opened its US debut at the

SculptureCenter SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit, contemporary art museum located in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1928 as "The Clay Club" by Dorothea Denslow. In 2013, SculptureCentre attracted around 13,000 visitors.Randy Kenned ...

in New York. After earlier reviews in

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

and

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

by amongst others

Claire Bishop Claire Bishop is a British art historian, critic, and Presidential Professor of Art History at CUNY Graduate Center, New York where she has taught since September 2008. Bishop is known as one of the central theorists of participation in visual ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

professor Chika Okeke-Agulula heated the debate by questioning if this was "The latest frontier in the Western art world's self-congratulatory and all-too-sporadic missionary work?" Meanwhile,

added the exhibition to their list of 'The Best Art of 2017'.

The Matter of Critique

Human Activities started the international conference series titled ''The Matter of Critique'' to address the material conditions of critical artistic engagement. Through these conferences, Human Activities brings together academics, artists, and economists, as well as the Congolese plantations workers to discuss the artistic, social, and economic scope of its activities in Congo. Human Activities initiated its first international conference in 2015 at the

KW Institute for Contemporary Art The KW Institute for Contemporary Art (also known as Kunst-Werke) is a contemporary art institution located in Auguststraße 69 in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. Klaus Biesenbach was the founding director of KW; the current director is Emma Enderby. KW c ...

and in Lusanga. The third edition also took place in Lusanga, in 2016. The fourth edition took place at the SculptureCenter, New York, on January 29, 2017 with notably

Ariella Azoulay Ariella Aïsha Azoulay (; born Tel Aviv, born February 21, 1962) is an author, art curator, filmmaker, and theorist of photography and visual culture. She is a professor of Modern Culture and Media and the Department of Comparative Literature ...

Simon Gikandi Simon E. Gikandi (born 30 September 1960) is a Kenyan Literature Professor and Postcolonial scholar. He is the Class of 1943 University Professor of English and Chair, Department of English at Princeton University. He is perhaps best known for h ...

David Joselit David Joselit is an American art historian, critic, and curator known for his work on modern and contemporary art, media theory, and image circulation. Joselit is the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard Un ...

Michael Taussig Michael T. Taussig (born 3 April 1940 in Sydney) is an Australian anthropologist and professor at Columbia University. He is best known for his engagement with Marx's idea of commodity fetishism, especially in terms of the work of Walter Benjami ...

and CATPC artist Matthieu Kasiama.

The Repatriation of the White Cube

On April 21, 2017, Human Activities and CATPC opened a White Cube on the site of Unilever's first ever palm oil plantation, in Lusanga (formerly Leverville) in the Congolese interior. Designed by OMA, this White Cube is the cornerstone of the Lusanga International Research Centre for Art and Economic Inequality (LIRCAEI). During the opening, plantation workers held discussions on the benefits of a White Cube for a plantation with philosopher Suhail Malik, curator

Clémentine Deliss Clémentine Deliss (born 1960) is a London-born curator, researcher and publisher. Biography Clémen Mary Deliz born in 1960 in London to French-Austrian parents. She studied art in Vienna, Austria, and holds a B.A. in Social Anthropology and a ...

, curator Azu Nwagbogu, the president of CATPC René Ngongo, and the Indonesian plantation workers union Serbundo. In a discussion broadcast by ZDF with the artists Monica Bonvicini,

Hans Haacke Hans Haacke (born August 12, 1936) is a German-born artist who lives and works in New York City. Haacke is considered a "leading exponent" of institutional critique, and is considered to be the most harsh and consistent critic of museums among t ...

, and Renzo Martens, curator at large of dokumenta 14 Bonaventure Ndikung commented on this project that "Africa does not need a White Cube". On

Designboom ''Designboom'' (stylized as ''designboom'') is a daily web magazine headquartered in Milan and covering the fields of industrial design, architecture, and art internationally. History Launched in 1999, the publication was the first web magazin ...

, the White Cube was listed as one of the 'TOP 10 museums and cultural venues of 2017'.

Inaugural exhibition "The Repatriation of the White Cube"

CATPC curated the inaugural exhibition of the White Cube in a network of Kisendus – traditional huts, especially built for the show, dedicated to arts and social events – linked to the White Cube. Different pieces referred to the D.R. Congo's rich history but had until then never been exhibited in the Congo. Participating artists included:

Kader Attia Kader Attia (born 30 December 1970) is an Algerian-French artist. Early life Attia was born in Dugny, France to Algerian parents and was raised in Paris and Algeria. He studied at the '' l'école Duperré de Paris, l'école des arts appliqués ...

, Sammy Baloji, Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo,

Marlene Dumas Marlene Dumas (born 3 August 1953) is a South African artist and painter based in the Netherlands. Early life and education Dumas was born in 1953 in Cape Town, South Africa and grew up in Kuils River in the Western Cape, where her father ha ...

, Michel Ekeba, Eléonore Hellio,

Carsten Höller Carsten Höller (born December 1961) is a German artist. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.Alice Rawsthorn (January 2012)"Cliff Hanger - The Ghanaian home of artists Carsten Höller and Marcel Odenbach goes above—and beyond" '' W Magazin ...

, Irène Kanga, Matthieu Kasiama, Jean Katambayi, Jean Kawata, Mbuku Kimpala, Thomas Leba, Jérémie Mabiala, Daniel Manenga, Mega Mingiedi, Eméry Mohamba, Cédrick Tamasala, Pathy Thsindele and

Luc Tuymans Luc Tuymans (born 14 June 1958) is a Belgian visual artist best known for his paintings which explore people's relationship with history and confront their ability to ignore it. World War II is a recurring theme in his work. He is a key figure ...

Post-Plantation

The opening of the White Cube museum marked the end of Human Activities' first research programme on

. The institute has now started a new research programme on the creation of the "post-plantation": a new ecological and economic model based on art.

Balot NFT

With the support of Human Activities, the

(CATPC) launched a collection of 306

NFTs A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

in response to the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...

(VMFA)'s refusal to loan a Congolese sculpture, the "Diviner's Figure representing Belgian Colonial Officer Maximilien Balot" from 1931, for an exhibition at CATPC's White Cube museum. CATPC is one of the first to use a digital means of art restitution by employing NFTs. With the sale of the NFTs, the collective will buy back and restore land that has been exhausted due to

in Lusanga, Congo. There is

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

surrounding the project due to the alleged

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

of the VMFA's photographs of the sculpture, which CATPC used to create the NFTs, with press coverage in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Artnet Artnet.com is an art market website. It is operated by Artnet Worldwide Corporation, which has headquarters in New York City. It is owned by Artnet AG, a German publicly-traded company based in Berlin that is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Ex ...

and more. The VMFA claims that the use of the photographs “violates our open access policy and is unacceptable and unprofessional”. In an article in

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments i ...

, CATPC member Cedart Tamasala responds to the debate, stating that:

“The sculpture has been in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
for a long time,” Tamasala says. “Keeping it and not sharing it is a form of
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
. We come from a country that has perpetual
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
. We don't want war. We do not want to oppose the museum. We are not here to have a conflict with them. The only thing we want is to rekindle a relationship with the sculpture. It is important to us. But we can only know it from afar. We want to change that.” - Cedart Tamasala (CATPC)

White Cube

In Renzo Martens’ latest film ''White Cube'' (2020), created in collaboration with the Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), he follows the plantation workers as they co-opt the concept of the ‘

white cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...

’ to buy back their land from international plantation companies and secure it for future generations.

“Land or art. If I would have to choose, I would choose both. But if I really have to choose only one, I would choose the land. Where can I put my chair and start making art, if I do not own the land?” – Matthieu Kasiama (CATPC) in ''White Cube''.

The film premiered simultaneously at the

(IDFA) and in Lusanga, D.R. Congo, after which there was a 'global museum launch' in which ''White Cube'' was screened and discussions were held at multiple art institutions around the world, amongst others including the National Museum in Kinshasa,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art in

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

, African Artists’ Foundation in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, MPavilion in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and

Museum MACAN The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara or Museum MACAN is an art museum at Kebon Jeruk in Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum is the first in Indonesia to have a collection of modern and contemporary Indonesian and international art. It ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. About the film,

Holland Cotter Holland Cotter is an American writer and co-chief art critic with ''The New York Times''. In 2009, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Life and work Cotter was born in Connecticut and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his A.B. fr ...

wrote in

"In short, the project, de-exoticizing and re-exoticizing, is politically problematic on almost every level, and it's fascinating for that reason. It raises questions about imbalances of power based on race and class that are at the very foundation of modern Western culture, but that our big museums have resolutely refused to address, never mind tried to answer."

Awards

* 2021: 18th Seoul Eco Film Festival (Audience's Choice) * 2021: “Tutta un’altra storia” Award at Biografilm Festival 2021 * 2017: Visible Award (shortlisted, with the Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise) * 2015: Witteveen+Bos-prijs voor Kunst+Techniek * 2015: Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst (category "Best Performance") * 2013: Yale World Fellow * 2013: Culture Documentary Stipend * 2010: Flanders cultural award for Film * 2010: Incentive Price of Dutch Film Fund

Criticism

In 2017 art collective

Keeping It Real Art Critics ''Keeping It Real Art Critics'' (also known as ''KIRAC'') is a web series on YouTube and Vimeo exploring the international art world. Directed by Stefan Ruitenbeek, a Dutch artist and director, ''KIRAC'' episodes occupy the middle ground between ...

published the critical movie 'Kirac 6' about Martens' approach to make art. In the movie they question the moral and motives of Martens related to the subject of poor African people he chooses for his projects.

Solo exhibitions and screenings

''White Cube'' and ''Episode III: Enjoy Poverty'' screening

Palazzo Grassi Palazzo Grassi (also known as the Palazzo Grassi-Stucky) is a building in the Venetian Classical style located on the Grand Canal of Venice (Italy), between the Palazzo Moro Lin and the campo San Samuele. History First owners During the 16th ...

, Venice, Italy, 2022
''White Cube'' screening
Points communs, Paris, France, 2022
BALOT
(in collaboration with CATPC), KOW, Berlin, Germany, 2022
Global Launch ''White Cube''
(2021): ** ''White Cube'' debate, with Renzo Martens, Ibrahim Mahama and Kari Kacha Seidou, SCCA, Tamale, Ghana ** Online ''White Cube'' debate, with Nurhady Sirimorok and Halim HD moderated by Asri Winata, Museum MACAN, Jakarta, Indonesia ** ''White Cube'' dialogue between curator Kirill Adibekov, Cedart Tamasala and Renzo Martens, VAC, Moscow, Russia ** Screening of ''White Cube'' and debate, with Henry Bundjoko, Franklin Mubwabu Mbobe, Pala Kamango, René Ngongo, Cedart Tamasala, Matthieu Kasiama, Mbuku Kimpala and Eléonore Hellio, moderated by Charles Tumba, National Museum, Kinshasa, DRC ** Screening of ''White Cube'' and online debate, with Renzo Martens, Mami Kataoka, Cedart Tamasala, Eleonore Hellio and Hikaru Fujii, Mori Art, Tokyo, Japan ** Screening of ''White Cube'' and an online discussion, with Renzo Martens, Surafel Wondimu and Cedart Tamasala, Sharjah Art Foundation and The Africa Institute, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ** Screening of ''White Cube'' and a debate, with Charles Esche and Cedart Tamasala, moderated by Renzo Martens, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven ** A debate with Renzo Martens, Cedart Tamasala, Oluwatoyin Sogbesan and Azu Nwagbogu, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Lagos, African Artists’ Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria ** Screening of ''White Cube'' with an introduction by Renzo Martens, David Gianotten, Cedart Tamasala, with Helen Runting and Arsene Ijambo, MPavilion, Melbourne, Australia ** ''White Cube'' Screening and conversation, with Azu Nwagbogu and Suhail Malik, ICA, London, UK ** ''White Cube'' screening and debate, with Sandrine Colard, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka, Jean François Mombia Atuku and Renzo Martens. Moderated by Wendy Bashi, Wiels, Brussels and Picha, Lubumbashi, DRC ** ''White Cube'' screening and debate, with Clémentine Deliss, Tirdad Zolghadr and Renzo Martens, KW, Berlin, Germany
FORCED LOVE
(in collaboration with CATPC), KOW, Berlin, Germany, 2020 * Forced Love (in collaboration with Irene Kanga / CATPC),

EYE Filmmuseum Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in ...

, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2020
The Repatriation of The White Cube
(in collaboration with CATPC), Lusanga, DRC, 2017
Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs des Plantations Congolaise
(in collaboration with CATPC),

, New York City, USA, 2016
Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs des Plantations Congolaise
(in collaboration with CATPC), MIMA, Middlesbrough, UK, 2015
A New Settlement
(in collaboration with CATPC), Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
A Lucky Day
(in collaboration with CATPC), KOW, Berlin, Germany
The Matter of Critique
(in collaboration with CATPC),

, Berlin, Germany, 2015
A Capital Accumulation Program
The BOX Gallery, Los Angeles, 2014 * Episode III,

Göteborgs Konsthall Göteborgs Konsthall is a contemporary art gallery, contemporary art Kunsthalle, exhibition hall in Gothenburg, Sweden. Description Göteborgs Konsthall exhibits both Swedish and international art. It is situated in a Classicism, classicist bui ...

, 2011 * Episode III, Wilkinson Gallery, London, 2009 * Episode III, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 2008 * Episode I,

Vtape Vtape is a Canadian artist-run centre located in Toronto, Ontario. It is Canada's largest distributor of video art, and the world's largest distributor of Indigenous and First People's film and video. The organization is run as a not for profit a ...

, Toronto, 2005 * Episode I, Marres, Maastricht, 2004 * Episode I, Gallery Fons Welters, Amsterdam, 2003 * Rien ne va plus, de Merodestraat, Brussel, 1999

Group exhibitions

''Selection from the last 10 years'' * KOW (in collaboration with CATPC),

, Switzerland, 2022
Time is Going – Archive and Future Memories
(in collaboration with CATPC), Dak'art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal, 2022
Made in X
(in collaboration with CATPC), Extra City, Antwerp, Belgium, 2022
Hurting and Healing: Let's Imagine a Different Heritage
(in collaboration with CATPC),

Tensta Konsthall Tensta konsthall is a center for contemporary art in the Stockholm suburb of Tensta, northwest of the city center. The gallery works with artists from both Sweden and abroad, often in conjunction with local associations and organizations in the ...

, Stockholm, Sweden, 2022
Staple: What's on your plate?
(in collaboration with CATPC), Art Jameel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2021
Risquons-Tout
(in collaboration with CATPC),

Wiels WIELS is a contemporary art centre in Forest, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium. The centre opened in 2007 in the former Blomme building, which belonged to the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery. It has three exhibition platforms with a total exhibit ...

, Brussels, Belgium, 2021
MONOCULTURE , A Recent History

, Antwerp, Belgium, 2019
Freedom – The Fifty Key Dutch Artworks Since 1968

Museum De Fundatie Museum de Fundatie () is a museum for the visual arts in Zwolle, Netherlands. Museum de Fundatie forms part of the Hannema-de Stuers Foundation, to which Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino also belongs. Museum de Fundatie possesses a collection of vis ...

, Zwolle, The Netherlands, 2019
Picture Industry

Luma Foundation LUMA Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 2004 that is based out of Zurich, Switzerland. It supports the activities of independent contemporary artists and other pioneers working in the fields of art, photography, publishing, doc ...

, Arles, France, 2019 * KOW (in collaboration with CATPC),

, Switzerland, 2019
Catastrophe and the Power of Art
(in collaboration with CATPC),

, Tokyo, Japan, 2018
The Way Things Run, Part II: Cargo
(in collaboration with CATPC), PS120, Berlin, Germany, 2018
Superposition: Equilibrium & Engagement
(in collaboration with CATPC), 21st

, Australia, 2018
TRANSAKTIONEN
Über den Wert künstlerischer Arbeit HaL (in collaboration with CATPC), Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin, Germany, 2017 * The Armory Show (in collaboration with CATPC) (Focus selection), New York City, USA, 2017
Bread and Roses
(in collaboration with CATPC), Museum for Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland, 2016 * Neither Back Nor Forward: Acting in the Present, Jakarta Biennial, Indonesia, 2015
Produktion
(in collaboration with CATPC), Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria, 2015
Confessions of the Imperfect
(in collaboration with CATPC),

Van Abbe Museum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 2014
Artes Mundi 6
(in collaboration with CATPC),

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff (), formerly known as the National Museum of Wales, is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Wel ...

, UK, 2014
Böse Clowns
Hartware Medien Kunstverein, Dortmund, Germany, 2014
Manifesto! An alternative history of photography
Folkwang/Winterthur, Germany/Switzerland, 2014
Hunting and Collecting
Mu.Zee, Ostend, Belgium, 2014
You Imagine what You Desire
19th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 2014
9 Artists
MIT List Visual Art Center, Cambridge, USA, 2014 * Arte Útil,

, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 2013
global aCtIVISm
ZKM I Museum of Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013
9 Artists

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

, Minneapolis, USA, 2013 * Ghost in the system - scenarios for resistance, Moscow Biennale, Moscow, Russia, 2013
Space of Exception
Artplay, Moscow Biennale, Moscow, Russia, 2013
Either/Or
Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany, 2013 * Either/Or, Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2013
Forget Fear
7th

, Berlin, Germany, 2012 * Models for Taking Part, Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada, 2012 * A Series of Navigations, Sligo, Ireland, 2012

Publications

*
Critique in Practice: Renzo Martens' Episode III (Enjoy Poverty)
', Anthony Downey (Ed.), MIT Press, 2019 *
CATPC: Cercle d'art des travailleurs de plantation congolaise
', Els Roelandt, Eva Barois De Caevel (Ed.), Sternberg Press, 2017

References

External links

Official website

Human Activities website

CATPC website

KOW gallery website

Fons Welters Gallery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martens, Renzo 1973 births Living people Dutch contemporary artists Dutch film producers Radboud University Nijmegen alumni People from Terneuzen