Souleymane Bachir Diagne, a philosopher and Professor of French at Columbia University, New York, will present ?Senghor?s Philosophy and Politics of African Art?.

The oeuvre of Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) known as négritude was highly concerned with African art and the philosophy it expresses, namely a philosophy of vital force and rhythm. In presenting what Senghor as a philosopher and a poet has labeled ?Negro-African Aesthetics?, Diagne will examine the way in which this subject was translated into the cultural policy he put in place while he was the president of Senegal (1960-1980). This analysis will be pursued in order to discuss the influence of Senghor?s cultural policy on Senegalese art. Diagnes lecture is part of ?On Négritude: A Series of Lectures on the Politics of Art Production in Africa?, a programme that during the autumn and winter of 2012–13 is exploring the history of cultural production in the continent. The first lecture in the programme was presented by Salah Hassan, Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History and Visual Culture at Cornell University under the title ?The Conceptual Turn and the Postcolonial Moment in Africa: Laboratoire Agit-Art in Context?.

The lecture can also be followed through live streaming here