Tag: contemporary African artists
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The Post-Visibility Blues: On Venice 2026 and the Limits of Representation – Review
The Venice Biennale has long been a place where Africa appeared only intermittently. A presence that was rare, often mediated through the gaze of others, and at times reduced to a footnote in the grand narrative of contemporary art. For decades, African artists, critics, and curators were compelled to fight a battle that seemed both…
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Why the Dakar Biennale Still Matters — Despite Everything
The announcement, in late January 2025, that the 16th edition of the Dakar Biennale would take place from November 19 to December 19, 2026, brought a sense of relief commensurate with the concerns that had preceded it. For months, the possibility of another postponement—or even a deeper weakening of the event—had fueled discussions within Senegalese…
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He Watched the Children Draw. Now He Teaches Them to Paint.
For more than two decades, the Ivorian artist Aboudia has painted the faces, symbols and urgent markings of childhood onto large canvases that now travel the global art circuit. Frequently compared — fairly or not — to Jean-Michel Basquiat, and shown at major international art fairs, he has built a visual language rooted not in…
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“We Are All Bidons”: Romuald Hazoumè’s Jerrycan Masks Mock a Wasteful World
Romuald Hazoumè’s voice—blunt, defiant, uncompromising—carries the same raw force as his iconic masks made from jerrycans. These sculptures, fashioned from discarded petrol containers, evoke Benin’s shadow economy of fuel smuggling with Nigeria, where many risk their lives transporting volatile loads on modified motorcycles for hidden profiteers. For decades, Hazoumè has transformed waste into works that…
Bridging Africa and The World Through Contemporary Art 