The 12th edition of the DAKAR BIENNALE, curated by Simon Njami, will be taking place from May 3 to June 2, 2016. Re-Enchantments, the international exhibition at the heart of the biennale, seeks to show an Africa and Africans that aim to re-enchant the world. It will be the outcome of a selection process of artists from Africa and the Diaspora.

Founded in 1994, DAK’ART was the very first biennale of contemporary art on the African continent.  To this day it remains the foremost large-scale African event devoted to contemporary art-making.

As the point of departure for Dak’Art 2016, which he has titled The City in the Blue Day, Simon selected an excerpt from a poem by Senghor:

“Your voice speaks to us of the Republic, saying we shall build the City in the blue day: In the equality of fraternal peoples. And we shall answer: “Present, oh Guélowar!”

“The ones who answer ‘present’ are the ones who, without shame or modesty, dare to call themselves Africans before the world, brushing aside all prejudices and all glances at the continent. Rather, they stake claim to the scars, the mistakes, the fumbling efforts and are not afraid of asserting the spirit of their territory in the face of professional skeptics’ mocking laughter.  Because, at the risk of seeming scandalous, I content that we aren’t born African, we become it. Becoming means being born into the world and discovering ourselves. It means making existential decisions that determine the direction of our lives. The only way to comprehend the Africa whose definition everyone pretends to know is to put together the scattered pieces of this several-thousand-year-old puzzle. Becoming means returning to express a viewpoint to the world. And it’s not expression without language. If we understand artists that are called African, we will be able to decode the original language in which everyone, in their own way, tells the world where they belong. Because in belonging to a territory and in attempting to define its outline, we shall not lose sight of the fact that all territory is foremost a metaphor that is difficult to pin down.” —Simon Njami

The call for candidate artists to participate in the exhibition will be open from 28 October to 21 December 2015.

To be considered, the application packet and required paperwork described below must be filled out properly, loaded onto one CD, and sent to the Secretariat-General of the Biennale by 21 December 2015.

INFORMATION & CONTACTS

Secretary General of the Dakar Biennale:

Mahmadou Rassouloulaye Seydi

Telephone:

Office: +221 33 823 09 18

Mobile: +221 77 099 11 99

Mailing address:

Secrétariat général de la Biennale des Arts de Dakar

19 avenue Hassan II (Ex Albert Sarraut), 1er étage,

BP: 3865 Dakar RP- SENEGAL

www.dakart.net

CLICK here for English application