L’art de la friche. French Artistic Networks in Africa

Abstract

This article is an informed analysis of the motives and consequences of French cultural brokers in the production of African art and culture, from the end of the colonial period to the early twenty-first century. The French cultural centers and art academies created in Africa following independence were part of Malraux’ cultural policies and intended to maintain French influence in the region. From the 1970s, French policies actively encouraged African talent in the performing and the visual arts. The foundation of Afrique en créations and Revue noire in the early 1990s stimulated the internationalization of African art and culture. Amselle argues that African contemporary art is the result of a new Franco-African coproduction, which is subsidized by French operators and serves France as a vehicle for regenerating French culture and restoring its cultural prestige on a global stage. In this sense, Africa represents an artistic “fuel tank” for the “sterile” North. The article is a translated excerpt from Amselle’s monograph on African contemporary art.