Senegalese artisans in the spotlight as they exhibit for the first time at a prestigious art event

By Monika Pronczuk

For the artistic and cultural elites of Senegal, the monthlong Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Arts is a celebratory moment.

Every two years, hundreds of artists, curators and art lovers from across the world descend on the West African capital to attend the event, which was founded in 1989 by the Senegalese government and has over the decades become one of the most important showcases on the continent.

Pop-up exhibitions are held in hundreds of venues, from stylish five-star hotels to local art galleries. Roads are even more crowded than usual, with traffic jams stretching out for miles along the Corniche, the city’s picturesque seaside boulevard. Every night, there are music concerts, fashion shows, talks with artists and movie screenings held against the backdrop of palm trees and to the soundtrack of popping champagne bottles.

But it wasn’t until this year that the local artisans in the Soumbedioune