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afrol News, 16 May - The Senegalese always have liked to call metropolitan Dakar something more than just their national capital. The big international cultural exhibition Dak'Art 2002- Africa's most important biennial - consolidates Dakar's role as a regional or even continental cultural capital. The one-month-long exhibition that opened on 10 May is "purely on contemporary African art," according to the organisers. The framework of promoting African artists - from the continent and from the Diaspora - focuses on supporting creative exchange and discoveries "necessary for the repositioning of the artists and their works on the international scene." The Dak'Art biennial this year celebrates its tenth anniversary and has proven to maintain a creative concept and play an increasing role in the contemporary cultural exchange on the continent. This year, artists from 13 African countries are represented; ranging from Egypt to South Africa. The art works range between performance art, interior design and paintings. The exhibition also lists several prominent guests. Yesterday, art-loving Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and his wife visited the biennale together with the Minister of Culture. Wade by personal inspection noted that Dak'Art 2002 had grown beyond its planned limits. Indeed, art performances have taken to the streets and left the rigid concepts of an exhibition. Tourists experience a metropolis in its heydays. This year's theme of Dak'Art is however a serious one. Is contemporary African art an independent unit or is it merely a reflexive copy of international trends? Exposed pieces indicate both a "yes" and a "no" to the question as many works are transmitting an African essence but cannot be completely detached from an international context. The issue is set to be thoroughly discussed in the many workshops and seminars organised during the biennale. Beninese self-educated multi-artist, Dominique Zinkpè, agrees to the importance of making African contemporary art for an African audience. Although he has exposed his works in Japan, Germany, France and very recently in the Kunsthalle of Berlin, Zinkpè says that an "African recognition is much more significant in my eyes than that of the West." Zinkpè is represented with two sculptures at Dak'Art 2002. But on the other hand, recognition is welcome where it is found. "I do what I feel," he stresses, his primary need being to express himself. "I do not seek to satisfy people by conforming to rules. The pretty things exist only in our dreams. It is reality that interests me," he concludes. Reality right now is Dak'Art 2002. You have until 10 June to visit it. Sources: Based on Dak'Art, press reports and afrol archives
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