Alioune Diop's 1966 essay 'Art and Peace' frames art as a tool for global healing amid postcolonial tensions

Alioune Diop, president of the organizing committee for the Premier Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres, argued in his 1966 essay 'Art and Peace' that the arts are essential for achieving world peace. The festival, held in Dakar, Senegal, showcased African and diasporic art to an international audience shortly after Senegal gained independence. Performances and exhibitions across the city brought together politicians, artists, and intellectuals to explore how culture might mend divisions caused by colonialism, the World Wars, and Cold War bloc tensions. Diop's vision connected negritude, Catholicism, and UNESCO's mid-century cosmopolitan ideals, highlighting art's role in global reconciliation. His ideas anticipate current discussions on globalization's impact on the arts and reveal overlooked historical linkages. The article, published by ARTMargins Online on December 10, 2020, notes that the content is subscription-only via MIT Press.