15th Dak’Art Biennial Postponed Six Months

Senegal’s Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture hasannouncedthat it is postponing the fifteenth iteration of theDak’Art Biennial of Contemporary African Art. Originally set to run May 16–June 16 of this year, the event will now take place November 7–December 7. Organizers cited the “unwavering desire to offer an exceptional artistic experience” as behind the change and noted that they were waiting for “optimal conditions” to prevail, allowing the event to live up to its reputation as one of the country’s premier art happenings.

Coming just over two weeks before Dak’Art’s scheduled opening, the April 24 announcement likely ruffled some feathers, given that many had already purchased tickets for the event, with international visitors almost certainly having made travel plans, according toLe Quotdien d’Art, which noted that some five hundred off-site exhibitions have not been canceled or postponed. The publication pointed to the “uncertain political climate” in which the event would have taken place, had it launched as scheduled: Senegal’snew president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, unseated the incumbent Macky Sall in March, in a hotly contested race that saw Sall attempt to delay the vote. His efforts resulted in mass protests and plunged into question the country’s reputation as a comparatively stable democracy in West Africa—a region that has seen eight separate coups since 2020. Faye is a favorite among the country’s disaffected voters under twenty-five, who make up some 60 percent of Senegal’s population.

Concurrent with the fraught political climate, Le Quotidien d’Art noted, was a physical lack of preparation for the Biennial, which since 2016 has been held at the former Palais de Justice. The publication said that even prior to the presidential election, no arrangements had been made to transport works to the venue, as would typically have been done three months prior to the opening, nor had any works yet been installed. As well, the event’s organizers, who are backed by the government, have disallowed audits of spending for the Biennial, which is partly paid for by public funds. The audit shutdown took place after roughly €2 million euros ($2.2 million) were reported missing from the event’s accounts.