In Guinea, artists without cultural structures to promote their works
Audio 02:34
Poster of the exhibition at the Villa des arts in Conakry.
© Villa des Arts
By: Matthias Raynal
2 min
Plastic artists are sorely lacking in exhibition venues in the country.
To show their works and sell them, they have to fall back on bars and restaurants that act as improvised galleries.
Some also use social networks to promote themselves.
In the Guinean art market, still in its infancy, the lack of structure adds to the difficulties for creators.
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From our correspondent in Conakry,
“
This initiative will continue, if you public who love art, you allow us to bring this place to life.
This is the speech of Souhaïb Deen Bangoura, invited for the inauguration of a place dedicated to artists.
It is an important day for Conakry and for Hicham Amine who made “
a crazy bet… yes!
We don't know where we are going, but we are starting.
"
In Conakry, the places dedicated to exhibitions can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
“
I worked with artists who did not have a place to exhibit their works,” pliŋue
Hicham Amine, manager and co-founder of the gallery
.
I told myself that it had to be done.
So there you have it.
"
The Villa des Arts is the name given to the gallery.
A simple dwelling house in the Kipé district.
100 m2, four rooms, which Hicham Amine has transformed into an exhibition space.
"
It was not easy to achieve this result, it's a long obstacle course,
" he describes.
We had to import products that cannot be found here, such as spotlights on rails.
"
Visibility for Guinean artists
For the inauguration, around fifty works were brought together here.
Twelve artists in total, including eight Guineans.
Among them, King Emmanuel who, very absorbed by his story, describes his work and his journey to visitors: “
It is very difficult in Guinea to make a living from his art.
There is no place dedicated to artists to exhibit their works.
"
Among the guests who wander between the rooms, Thierno Aliou Bah, 35, neophyte, recently bought his very first Guinean painting by chance.
“
I saw a tag on a wall, quite atypical.
I contacted the number stuck to the tag and that's how I was able to meet the artist.
"
“The artist” is Abdoulaye Condé, alias AC Lion, a young Guinean who was lucky enough to be exhibited that day.
“
He created a work that everyone enjoys today.
Extraordinary!
I imagine that many people would like to meet Abdoulaye, but there is no place or information to contact him.
"
This is the role that the Villa des Arts must now play: to give visibility to Guinean artists.
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Guinea
Culture