Ernest Duku in Le Monde Afrique

Original in French | Le Monde Afrique

Ivory Coast: in Abidjan, the world of contemporary art is booming The network of galleries and foundations expands each year in the Ivorian economic capital, such as the very young Galerie Véronique Rieffel, represented at the Art Paris fair.

Even behind her mask, Gazelle Guirandou has trouble hiding her excitement. Thursday, September 10, the gallery she runs with Simone Guirandou N’Diaye, her mother, a renowned Ivorian personality in the art world, hosted her first exhibition since March and the outbreak of the coronavirus in Côte d'Ivoire.

“Last year, around the same time, we had already organized six exhibitions. We will finally be able to pick up where we left off and rediscover contact with the works, the public, artists… and collectors ”, rejoices the gallery owner in front of Ernest Dükü, the famous Ivorian plastic artist who will present on the occasion of the opening of some of his last pieces.

 

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In recent years, the Ivory Coast has been showing its nose on the world stage of contemporary art. The latest example to confirm this trend: the participation of the very young nomadic gallery Véronique Rieffel in the Parisian fair Art Paris, a major cultural meeting for art lovers which took place from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September. Something to feel "invested in a fairly important role," says the curator who lives in Abidjan.

 

Véronique Rieffel moved to the Ivorian economic capital less than a year ago. A period of time nevertheless sufficient to make a place and a name in the bubbling Ivorian landscape of the visual arts. "I was drawn to the dynamic I found there, fabulous artists and some galleries with international projection. Seeing all this, I decided to launch myself in September 2019 ”, explains this specialist in the arts of Africa and the Middle East who, by the end of the year, will open a real physical space on the banks of the sea ​​in the nearby town of Grand-Bassam.

Multiple Galleries

This place will complete the network of galleries and foundations that stretches each year along the edge of the Ebrié lagoon. In March, the country's first contemporary art museum opened in the popular commune of Abobo, north of Abidjan. It was financed and built by Adama Toungara, a public official who is also one of the country's largest private collectors.

While contemporary art showcases are multiplying in Abidjan - there are now around ten - the local market is also developing. In the absence of reports or quantified studies, all professionals in the field interpret the slightest signals as confirmation of a growing market. "The occasional or permanent return of Ivorian artists is a sure sign," says Mimi Errol, artistic director of the Houkamy Guyzagn gallery and one of the only art critics and curator in the country.

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The critic cites Ouattara Watts as an example, the prodigal son who left to live in the United States some thirty years ago and returned in 2018 for an exhibition. His compatriots, the sculptor Jems Robert Koko Bi and the visual artist Ernest Dükü, have also initiated returns, confirming the existence of market outlets for their productions.

In fact, during the 2018 exhibition, Ouattara Watts's works sold well, at prices ranging from 40,000 to 120,000 euros depending on the piece. "Some of her works were acquired by local collectors", confides Cécile Fakhoury, who hosted the exhibition in her gallery opened in 2012. Accustomed to major international art meetings, the young French gallery owner, who represents many numerous Ivorian and West African artists, has a second gallery in Dakar and a showroom in Paris. The first years, 90% of its turnover was made abroad but, today, she specifies, "without being at 50/50, there is an important rebalancing which took place" . And if there is no boom, "the upward trend in the local market is evident."

While the market is growing, its dynamism remains to be confirmed over time. To increase its notoriety, should an international event be organized in Abidjan? "Too early, the market is not yet mature enough," says a collector accustomed to great artistic raids. And a biennial? "The one in Dakar is very good and does the job," he adds, a little jaded. Other industry professionals, more enterprising and enthusiastic, are nevertheless planning an international auction in the coming months.

For Mimi Errol, a fine connoisseur of the field, “for ten years, the market has grown organically, gradually and resiliently despite political and health crises”. Better, Abidjan manages to "bring back its artists, to keep the youngest and to attract those from the sub-region", rejoices the art critic behind his desk. "But we have to move slowly, otherwise there is a great risk of seeing young artists giving in to the sirens of the market to the detriment of the creativity that is the soul of Abidjan," he adds.

 

Yassin Ciyow (Abidjan) ~ Superbe, Merci Beaucoup.