Inauguration of the sound installation Sonic Communitary

 The African Union: 20 to 20,000 Hz. by Emeka Ogboh

in the Julius Nyerere Peace &  Security Building of the African Union

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4th November, 2016: Less than a month after the opening of the new Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building of the Africa Union by the German Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, the German Ambassador, H.E. Joachim Schmidt, and a representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, jointly inaugurated the corresponding art work, the sound installation SONIC COMMUNITARY- The African Union: 20 to 20,000 Hz. by the Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh today.

One Highlight of the art work is the collection of historic speeches, given by the respective African head of states at the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25th of May 1963.

The sound installation emphasises the motto of the African Union “Unity in Diversity” by displaying the variety of the African continent in political, cultural and historical aspects.

Being the art work of the Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building, the sound installation contributes to the prevention and solution of conflicts, a task assigned to the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, which will be accommodated in the new building.

In his inauguration speech, Ambassador Schmidt stated:

“20 to 20,000 Hz relates to the standard range of audible frequencies for humans. In other words, it stands for the common channel for all humans, which enables us to understand and listen to each other. Mr. Ogboh couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate name for this art project. After all, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union is meant to prevent and solve conflicts, not least through the means of mutual dialogue and understanding.

On behalf of the AU Commission Director of Social Affairs Department of the African Union Dr Olawale Maiyegun welcomed the guests and thanked the Government of Germany for the support for the African Union in implementing its activities in war and peace.

The art work was conceived by the IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) and funded by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. The jury, consisting of experts from all over the African continent, spoke up mutually for Emeka Ogboh’s sound installation.

Emeka Ogboh, who was born in 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria and now works in Lagos and Berlin, stated:

“My interest lies in breaking the traditional norms and using new media art forms to enter the discussion. If that includes issues of Pan-Africanism, diversity, the African Diaspora or others, the tools to engage in the discussion do not belong exclusively to the realm of the political or the economic or the bureaucratic. Music and sound, art and poetry, protest culture and street art — all these forms of communication contribute and can have impact by critically reflecting on social issues, which often goes hand in hand with the desire for freedom of expression, and by engaging the people.”

From 03.11.2016 to 30.11.2016 the Modern Art Museum “Gebre Kristos Desta Center” in Addis Ababa displays the sound and archival material, which the artist used for this project in the exhibition PLAYBACK.

Notes to the Editors:

Sonic Communitary- The African Union: 20 to 20,000 Hz. combines audio taken from official political speeches, musical lyrics and bird songs. They spread out from the foyer on the first floor outwards onto the terrace and into the garden of the recently opened Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building.

Media contact:

Mr. Gamal Ahmed Karrar, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission

E-mail:    gamalk@africa-union.org, Mobile: +251912611826

Mahlet Mesfin, Press Officer, German Embassy Addis Ababa,  

E-mail; sprach-10@addi.auswaertiges-amt.de, Mobile: +251912506344

Follow us

Face book: https://www.facebook.com/AfricanUnionCommission

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_AfricanUnion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/AUCommission