Introduction to BMW Art Car #20 and AFMAC
The BMW Art Car project has entered a dynamic new chapter with BMW Art Car #20, a collaboration spearheaded by Julie Mehretu and the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC). The final workshop, staged in Cape Town, marks a significant convergence of visual art, film, and media practices across continents. AFMAC, launched in April 2025, brings together an international roster of artists, filmmakers, and curators to explore new forms of cross-disciplinary storytelling. This installment proposes a dialogue between Mehretu’s expansive painterly language and AFMAC’s media-forward approach.
Lead Artists and Collaborations
The project centers on Mehretu’s ongoing BMW Art Car initiative and includes key input from The Otolith Group, a respected duo in contemporary film and video art. Their involvement signals a commitment to experimental narrative, archival review, and innovative use of moving image as a complement to the tactile presence of a painted canvas. Chimurenga, a prominent platform for African arts and culture, collaborates to present public screenings and talks, weaving together curatorial expertise with community-accessible programming.
Public Screenings and Talks: A Live Interface
In Cape Town, the final workshop blends screenings with intimate talks that invite audience participation. The public sessions offer critical context for understanding how Mehretu’s (…) BMW Art Car concept intersects with AFMAC’s mission to elevate African media arts on a global stage. Viewers can anticipate a sequence of clips, discussions, and performances that foreground ideas of mobility, memory, and the convergences of painting and cinema.
Public Engagement and Educational Value
Beyond presentation, the event serves as a platform for exchange among emerging artists, established practitioners, and scholars. Workshops encourage hands-on experimentation with interdisciplinary methods, encouraging participants to consider how large-scale painting can inform filmic syntax and how film can, in turn, shape the reception of an automotive art object. The Cape Town edition highlights community engagement, local talent, and global dialog, with opportunities for residents to reflect on the cultural exchange between Africa and Europe in the BMW Art Car narrative.
Context: Julie Mehretu’s Vision and AFMAC’s Emergence
Julie Mehretu’s artistic practice, noted for its kinetic layering and granular attention to global histories, provides a compelling framework for BMW Art Car #20. AFMAC’s emergence as a transnational platform in Cape Town embodies a contemporary model of collaboration where painters, filmmakers, and curators co-create new forms of narrative. The partnership with The Otolith Group and Chimurenga ensures the project is rooted in rigorous cultural critique while remaining accessible to a broad audience through screenings and talks.
What to Expect: Themes and Formats
Expect a programmatic blend of screening selections, artist-led discussions, and live responses to the Art Car concept. The discourse will likely explore how mobility and transportation become vessels for memory, and how Africa’s diverse media ecosystems influence global art discourse. Attendees should anticipate cinematic sequences that illuminate Mehretu’s painting processes, as well as documentary material that contextualizes AFMAC’s experimental framework within Cape Town’s vibrant arts scene.
Impact for Cape Town and Global Audiences
This final workshop in Cape Town positions the city as a critical node in a transcontinental dialogue about contemporary painting and film. By integrating local voices with international curators and artists, the event reinforces the BMW Art Car series as a living laboratory for cross-border exchange. The collaboration underscores how museums, galleries, and independent spaces can co-create immersive experiences that resonate across audiences, ages, and disciplines.
How to Engage
Media professionals, students, and art lovers should watch for post-event materials, including extended talks, production notes, and behind-the-scenes footage that document the development of BMW Art Car #20. For those unable to attend in person, participating institutions are likely to offer online excerpts, enabling a global audience to engage with this ongoing exploration of painting, cinema, and mobility.
