Above: Prince Gyasi at Nil Gallery
After a year marked by the cancellation and postponement of events, AKAA
returns in 2021 with energy and determination and continues to stand for a
multi-faceted Africa, which transcends historical boundaries and whose artistic
voices resonated in the four corners of the world.
This past spring, AKAA in collaboration with Manifesta, took up residence in Lyon
from May 19 to July 16, 2021. By imagining a new hybrid format between fair
and exhibit, AKAA presented an exhibition (for sale) inviting 13 artists whose
work responds to a curatorial theme developed by Armelle Dakouo, Artistic
Director of AKAA.
Energized by the incredible success of this new format, AKAA is excited to
present its upcoming edition, back at the Carreau du Temple, with a cutting
edge selection of exhibitors. With 33 international galleries and over a 100
artists from all over the world, AKAA has become, in six editions, an event not to
be missed for collectors, art professionals and amateurs of contemporary art.
AKAA is thrilled to announce the return of many exhibitors such as galleries
MAGNIN-A – Paris, MOV’ART – Angola/Lisboa, October Gallery – London
or THK Gallery – Cape Town, as well as the new participation of Montague
Contemporary – New York, Rhizome Gallery – Algiers, Motion Art Gallery – Cairo,
BKhz -Johannesburg, Krystel Ann Art – Lisboa, Open Art Exchange – Schiedam,
By Lara Sedbon – Paris, Galerie Véronique Rieffel – Abidjan and Voss Gallery –
Dusseldorf.
AKAA is much more than an art fair. With its cultural platform, AKAA builds
bridges between disciplines. Every year art professionals from around the world
are invited to participate in les Rencontres AKAA and join in the conversation
around contemporary art from Africa and rethink the codes of the international
art market.
This year, Les Rencontres AKAA’s cultural program is entitled: “Against the flow
of Time”. For many time has stretched and even stopped this past year. We have
had to learn patience again, teaching us a new appreciation for the true value of
things, beings and our surroundings. Artists participate in building the definition
of time which becomes our shared history marked by the imprint of the past.
