Memorable moments in Dakar

By Jackie Karuti, participant at Dak’Art 2014 from Kenya

Alas where did that one week go? The 11th edition of the Dak’Art Biennale was well represented this year with artists, friends and supporters from all over the world converging in Senegal’s beautiful city Dakar. As an artist and art lover I draw a lot of inspiration from Léopold Sédar Senghor who was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who served as the first president of Senegal. He is regarded by many as one of the most important African intellectuals of the 20th century and he played a huge part in promoting the Arts in Senegal as well as Africa as a whole. Being my first time in Senegal, I was pretty stoked to be selected as one of the ‘Moving Africa’ participants to go experience the Dak’Art Biennale by the Goethe-Institut.

But first who did I meet that really made my world spin? Wangechi Mutu for starters. She is an artist and sculptor born in Kenya but now living in Brooklyn, NYC. Coming from Nairobi where she is regarded an icon, I was star struck after meeting her but also because I got to sit through a presentation of her work, one which was featured in the biennale’s international exhibition. Of course numerous pictures were taken and swiftly posted on every social media portal I subscribe to thus making my friends effectively jealous. Other notable artists were Julie Mehretu, John Akomfrah and one of the biennale curators, Smooth Ugochukwu who called me by name and casually announced to everyone that he & I were Facebook friends. I died. Other notable moments included the official opening of the biennale, participating in a performance by Kenyan artist, Ato malinda, attending the epic after-party hosted by ContemporaryAnd magazine, a viewing of work by Abdoulaye Konate, visiting the Goethe Institut space in Dakar, sighting the famous African Renaissance monument, the horse-drawn carts on the roads, inevitably getting a history lesson about Senegal from a taxi driver, sampling that famous onion soup that came with every meal, and of course shopping for fabric and raw sheer butter at the markets. A girl needs her moments.

I think I speak for most of the participants when I say that communication was our biggest obstacle during our stay in Dakar. French, the national language, is widely spoken as well as Wolof which is one of the most popular regional languages. After Dak’art officially opened we spent most of our days skirting across town daily trying to catch the numerous exhibitions happening in almost every corner of Dakar. Usually at breakfast we would decide on places to go for the day. This would always begin with us hopping into one of the many beat-up yellow taxis but not after having lengthy negotiations with the ever patient drivers about the price and directions in really bad French or animated gestures. One or two participants spoke or rather understood a little French which usually came in handy but every now and then we’d encounter a driver or two who only spoke Wolof and we’d be back to the wild gesticulating. Utter chaos!

The thing I love most about artists is the ability to get along and mingle with anyone and everyone. I ended up meeting people I had met before so it became a blissful re-union of sorts and also got to meet a lot of new people. They made Dakar magical.

Merci beaucoup Goethe-Institut!