Dak'art 2012: African Contemporary Art Biennale in Dakar

The 2012 edition of Dak'art, the African contemporary art biennale founded in 1992, took place from May 11 to June 10 in Dakar, Senegal. The event featured three curators: Christine Eyene (Cameroonian, London-based), Nadira Laggoune-Aklouche (Algerian), and Riason Naidoo (South African). The theme was 'Créations contemporaines et dynamiques sociales'. The biennale highlighted a predominantly African scene, with strong representation from South Africa, Senegal, and Morocco. Notable works included Mounir Fatmi's 'Burn Baby Burn' (hot sauce bottles with Black Panthers logo), Moataz Nasr's video 'Merge and Emerge' (dervishes merging into white), and Ibrahima Niang's video of clay figures depicting Dakar streets. Oussama Tabti presented scanned library loan cards from Algiers revealing no borrowings between 1994-1999. The Grand Prix was awarded to Younès Baba-Ali for a piece involving car horns and a morse code call to prayer. Off-program events included talks at Centre Pompidou led by Chantal Béret with Achille Mbembe, Mamadou Diouf, and Morad Montazami; an installation by Serge Alain Nitegeka at Institut français; and exhibitions at Raw Material Company (founded by Koyo Kouoh) including 'Chronique d'une révolte' on Macky Sall's election riots and works by Soly Cissé, Camara Gueye, Ndary Lo, and Cheikhou Bâ. Kër Thiossane, founded by Marion Louisgrand, received EU funding for its open-source technology focus.