Tag: contemporary African art
-
“We Are Artists Too”: Senzeni Marasela on the Persistence Marginalisation of Black Women in Global Art Collections
South African artist Senzeni Marasela recently announced that she is preparing for a Netflix documentary exploring the underrepresentation of Black women artists in global collections. Multiple studies — from major museum analyses in the United States and Europe to research conducted in South Africa — have consistently shown that Black women artists, whether African, African…
-
How Dakar’s Museum of Black Civilizations Is Rethinking the African Museum
In the heart of Dakar, the Museum of Black Civilisations (MCN) stands as one of Africa’s most ambitious cultural institutions. Spanning 14,000 square metres and designed to eventually house up to 18,000 objects, from archaeological remains to contemporary art, the museum reflects an ambitious vision of African heritage in all its historical and cultural diversity.…
-
Hannah O’Leary on a Decade of Transformation in the African Art Market — and What Still Lies Ahead
Over the past decade, the market for modern and contemporary African art has undergone a remarkable transformation. Auction records have multiplied, international museums have expanded their acquisitions, and African artists have gained unprecedented visibility on the global stage. Yet behind the headlines lie more fundamental questions: How is value actually created? Who shapes an artist’s…
-
Beyond Decoloniality: Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung on Reimagining Institutions, Knowledge, and Curatorial Practice
In 2021, when Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung was appointed Director of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin, he set out a clear ambition: to shape the institution into a House of World Cultures grounded in complexity, co-creation, and the reconciliation of cultures. Five years later, DakArtNews sat down with the Cameroonian curator,…
-
She Helped Build Senegal’s First Private Museum of Contemporary Art. Today, CCH Pounder Collects “for the Future”
Long before contemporary African art became one of the fastest-growing segments of the global art market, CCH Pounder was collecting the artists she believed would one day define its history. Together with her late husband, the Senegalese anthropologist Boubacar Koné, she founded the Musée Boribana in Dakar (1992), the country’s first museum dedicated to contemporary…
-
Didier Claes on Curating “Africa Legacy,” One of the Year’s Most Ambitious African Art Exhibitions
For more than three decades, Belgian-Congolese collector and dealer Didier Claes has been one of the leading voices in the field of classical African art. With “Africa Legacy: The Cradle of Art”, he embarks on what is arguably the most ambitious project of his career: an exhibition bringing together nearly 280 works spanning more than…
-
Curator and Art Critic Massamba Mbaye on Venice, Dak’Art, and Africa’s Place in the Global Art World
In conversation with DakArtNews, nearly two months after the opening of the second Senegalese Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Curator of Senegal’s inaugural participation in 2024 and the 2026 edition featuring artist Caroline Gueye, Massamba Mbaye reflects on this historic moment. In this extensive interview, he delves into the intellectual and symbolic foundations of…
-
Why Africa Still Inspires Ethan Cohen, the New York Gallerist Driven by Curiosity
He has been called one of the most influential art dealers in the world. But when you sit down with Ethan Cohen, the first thing you notice is not the reputation. It’s the energy. The questions he asks. The way he leans in when he talks about an artist he loves. The New York gallerist,…
-
At Africa Basel’s Second Edition, High Stakes and a Raw New Rhythm
As the art world descends on Switzerland, the second edition of Africa Basel moves to a raw new venue at Klybeck 610, shifting the focus from mere visibility to long-term market viability.
-
A Senegalese Curator Brings Light Through the Fissures at the Venice Biennale
In the hushed halls of the 17th-century Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, where the light filters through ancient windows onto Venetian floors, Mama Anne has quietly inserted an Afro-diasporic voice into one of the most prestigious stages in contemporary art. As the curator and driving force behind The Fissures of Light – Diaspora: Dissonances in F…
Bridging Africa and The World Through Contemporary Art 