My time is winding down in Dakar, and I cannot help but look back the most memorable places and art that I have seen. My best experience was the exhibition opening of Joe oakum at 17rue Jules ferry, getting to this place like every other place was not easy but the experience and art was overwhelming. The artist was understated, and this to me is what made his work even more memorable he was just creating art, for art sake. I daresay this was my favorite exhibition of them all. Because it inspired me to head to my studio create and paint like my life depended on it.
While I noticed most of the artist in the biennale were Diaspora artist it made me question the curatorship of the exhibitions. Is African art not enough, should there be a euro or westernized influence in the work for it to make it to the festival or for it to have meaning. Since conceptual art could not be viewed without a westernized context. Some of the work especially the installation at the French gallery allowed the audience to be part of the art as one had to maneuver within the artwork. Visiting all this exhibitions allowed me to question my own art practice and its place within a global context.
In conclusion I want to thank moving Africa and the Goethe institute for their enormous effort in making this a memorable experience to be part of the cultural phenomenon that is the Dak’Art biennale.
Moving Africa
Moving Africa is the pan-African exchange program of the Goethe-Institut, which allows artists to travel to cultural festivals on the African continent.
