Senegal launches the 15th Dakar Contemporary Art Biennale

The opening ceremony took place in the presence of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The 15th Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar opened its doors on Thursday November 7, 2024. During the ceremony, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye awarded the prestigious Grand Prix Léopold Sédar Senghor to Martinique artist Agnès Brézéphin for her remarkable work on a typographic font dedicated to the Creole alphabet, called “Coolie”. The biennial, which takes place from November 7 to December 7, attracts nearly 400,000 visitors. This major event allows you to discover African and diaspora art through varied cultural events, ranging from painting to sculpture, including sound and musical installations, performances and debates.

President Faye expressed his enthusiasm at the opening of the biennial, highlighting the importance of this event for the country’s culture. “I would like to express all my satisfaction and the pleasure of meeting the great family of culture today on the occasion of the official opening of the 15th edition of the Biennale of Contemporary African Art,” he declared. “For a month, Dakar and Senegal will be the center of intense artistic influence”he added, thus underlining the key role of the Senegalese capital in the world artistic scene.

Under the direction of Salimata Diop, art critic and exhibition curator, the 2024 biennial highlights the United States and Cape Verde. The theme of this edition, The Wake – The awakening, the wake, xàll wi (which means “the wake” in Wolof), explores questions of femininity, violence and consumption. Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan artist living in Brooklyn, is the great witness to the event. The international exhibition presents the works of 58 artists from Africa and the diaspora, offering visitors an “immersive journey” enriched with sound and musical installations, creating a unique “emotional experience”.

Although the biennial was initially scheduled for May 16 to June 16, it was postponed due to rumors of a lack of funding shortly after the presidential elections. This postponement has not dampened the enthusiasm and excitement around this event, which remains a must on the African artistic scene.