[ON CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART]
“The art schools are so-so, the governments are so-so, the basic structure for action to happen isn’t there yet.
So if we don’t think properly and get our act together, whatever potential we have will be wasted.
Without any activity, how do you want the market to exist?
Without the structure, there cannot be a valuable potential.
The structure is the museums, the galleries, the collectors, the critics.
This is how the market will shift.
………For Africans, no matter how they got their money, it would be safer to invest in art of the continent than, say, a castle in France, or a Swiss bank.
………….Senghor bred the ground for culture, adjusted the budget for education, and created a movement to support art.
If we don’t want Senghor’s work to die, we have to do something about it!”
SIMON NJAMI
Artistic Director, current edition of DARK’ART