APPOINTMENT

Despite the pouring rain, nothing could stop us on this day that everyone was talking about. The long-awaited event that we should not miss at the Carreau du Temple in Paris, the AKAA (Also Known As Africa) contemporary African art fair, which brought together 40 artists from all over, including:

1.Jean Servais Somian (Ivory Coast)

2.Nobukho Nqaba (South Africa)

3. Marius Dansou (Benin)

4. Joana Choumali (Ivory Coast).

Just in time to sit on these beautiful stools made from upturned plastic basins topped with wax cushions, and listen to their creator, the Ivorian designer, cabinetmaker and sculptor Jean Servais Somian, who tells us how he came up with the idea of transforming these containers, which are widely used by women in Africa. Light and practical, it can be used as a children's toy bucket that can be stored in a corner, then transformed into a pouffe.

The young South African Nobukho Nqaba, who is arriving in France for the first time, had the idea of reconstructing her personal past by staging herself through plastic bags that remind her of her childhood. Original photographs that tell a story. When I asked her, during our exchange, how she found our country, she answered me: 'It's very cold and the French are well dressed (laughs).

Marius Dansou is a Beninese visual artist who lives and works in Cotonou. This spectacular work, inspired by African hairstyles, which he presents, is made of reinforcing steel and bronze.

We were unable to meet the Ivorian photographer Joana Choumali, already known for having participated in the Biennale in 2015 at the Quai Branly.

Many thanks to you...

Also Know As Africa: www.akaafair.com

IAM: www.iam-africa.com

Franck Abd-Bakar Fanny

Siaka Soppo Traoré, happy winner of the jury

The Vallois Gallery

Not forgetting my future collaborator