In Senegal, the 15th biennial of contemporary African art is likely to not be able to open on May 16 as planned due to a lack of funding. This world-renowned artistic event is held every two years in Dakar.
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With our correspondent in Dakar, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
At Senegalthe message has been circulating for two days from phone to phone and comes from the organizing committee of the biennial. He speaks of “ logistical inadequacies » and a “ great concern » that the works cannot “ not arrive on time » for the start of the biennial, May 16. Lack of money is to blame.
The last two payments which were to be made by the State, before the presidential election, were not honored, confirms a source close to the matter. Of the budget of 1.5 billion FCFA planned by the State (around 2 million euros), less than a third is currently available, according to a member of the organizing committee.
A hard blow for this event financed by the State of Senegal
Without this budget, it is impossible to pay for transportation works of African artists who come from all over the world, to publish a catalog or even to accommodate around sixty artists, according to this same source. And 22 days before the opening of the biennial, even if the funds were to finally be found, the deadline is increasingly untenable to guarantee the arrival of the works on time, in particular by boat. Result: some are pleading for a postponement of the biennial until next November.
This is a hard blow for this event financed by the State of Senegal. Since its creation in 1992, it has only been postponed once due to Covid-19.
A meeting this Tuesday, April 23 must decide whether to postpone or maintain the biennial. An arbitration by the new Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Khady Diène Gaye, is expected. The latter unwillingly inherits the debts left by the previous government.