Dak’Art made its first public appearance of the year on Thursday, September 25, at the Museum of Black Civilisations. There, artistic director Morad Montazami presented the official selection for the 16th Biennale of Contemporary African Art, which will run in Dakar from November 19 to December 19, 2026. The international exhibition will feature 54 visual artists, and 21 designers will fill the design section. In all, 75 artists were chosen from several hundred applications. According to figures released before the ceremony, more than 800 applications were received, 600 of them eligible.
Montazami is a French-Iranian art historian, publisher and curator who runs the platform Zamân Books & Curating. He has given this edition the theme « (Anti)fragility: arts of repair and counter-shock strategies. » The idea is to look at how artists turn shocks, whether political, ecological or personal, into material for their work. In choosing the artists, he favoured new voices, emerging talent, regions that rarely get represented and practices rooted in communities.
The list of participants reaches well beyond the usual art hubs. It includes Senegal, South Africa, the DRC, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, and also Sudan, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritius, Botswana and Burkina Faso. Artists from Brazil, Suriname, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland reflect the place the biennale gives to the diaspora. Around thirty countries are represented in total.
The host country has a strong presence. Eleven Senegalese visual artists are in the international exhibition, among them Ibrahima Cissé, known as « Déb’s, » Pape Diop and Serigne Ibrahima Dièye. The design section includes three familiar names from the Dakar scene: Aïssa Dione, known for her woven textiles, Balla Niang and the ceramicist Mauro Petroni. Senegalese artist Serigne Mbaye Camara will receive a carte blanche. Faouzi Laatiris, a 68-year-old Moroccan artist who showed at Dak’Art in 2002, will act as the edition’s « Grand Witness, » a role that ties the biennale to its own past.
The main exhibition will occupy Dakar’s former Palace of Justice. Over the years, this disused building has become one of the event’s signature venues. The Museum of Black Civilisations and the National Gallery will host part of the programme as well. The Democratic Republic of Congo will be the guest country of honour, and announcements made before the ceremony also named Saudi Arabia among the guests. Beyond the official programme, more than 400 « Off » events are planned in Dakar, in other regions and across the diaspora. Every edition, galleries, studios and independent spaces turn the whole city into a stage for art.
The Dakar Biennale was founded in 1990 as a literature event and turned to the visual arts in 1992. Today it is one of the oldest contemporary African art events held on the continent. The 2024 edition, led by Salimata Diop, had already given a large place to young artists. Under Montazami, Dak’Art keeps opening up while asking whether art can repair what crises have damaged. November will show how the 75 artists answer that question.