DAK'ART 2004: Biennial of Contemporary African Art, 7 May?7 June, Dakar, Senegal

Abstract

The sixth edition of the Biennial of Contemporary African Art, named DAK'ART, held officially from 7 May to 7 June 2004, was a marvelous opportunity to encounter Dakar under a new light, wandering through numerous spaces to look at a wide range of exhibitions organized by the State for the selection and by embassies, stores, private galleries, restaurants, bars, and associations for the off program. Walking in and out of places that one would simply pass by, crossing the city in all directions according to the rhythm of traffic flow, which radiates from the Plateau at the heart of the city to different districts, cutting through markets to the Ocean front all brought about many reflections, however chaotic the event and exhausting the experience could be. The poet and former president of Senegal, Leopold Sedar Senghor, highly in? terested in the promotion of culture (his visionary projects were, in many regards, understood by few), initiated in 1966 the famous exhibition entitled Premier festival mondial des arts negres. It brought together 800 works that encompassed painting, drawing, tapestry, sculpture, and printmaking. The following year, Algeria organized the Festival culturel panafricain d'Alger; however, it was only in 1977 that another fes? tival was held on the continent, called Festival des arts et de la culture du monde noir (FESTAC), which took place in Nigeria. As for Senegal, it was in 1990 that the first edition of the biennial appeared, which included literature. In 1992, it was decided to bring together exclusively the visual arts, and aside from a pause in 1994, it has pursued that framework. This year, the biennial included works of thirty-three artists from sixteen countries, fifteen of whom were women, and there were also five designers. The exhibition was spread throughout five locations, making use of different public spaces: the National Gallery; the CICES, which holds international fairs; the