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Abidjan, Nairobi, Dakar, Cape Town, Lagos, Kinshasa, Douala, or even Bamako. How do artists think of the city? The exhibition “Art in the City”, presented at La Rotonde des Arts in Abidjan, allows 22 contemporary artists selected by the Dapper Foundation to share their perceptions and their creations in painting, photography, video or performance. Aude Leveau Mac Elhone, curator of the exhibition, and the artist Julie Djikey are the guests of “Afrique Hebdo”.
The “Art in the City” exhibition is divided into three sections: that of “living cities” which testifies to the incredible energy instilled by city life, that of “cities of resilience” which underlines the difficulties encountered by many city dwellers by highlighting their ability to move forward thanks to resourcefulness and the circular economy and finally that of “memory towns” which wonders how not to lose the memory of its individual and collective history within societies that are increasingly more standardized.
Ivory Coast: the inhabitants of the department of Ouellé suffer from water pollution
Gold mining causes pollution of waterways which often have catastrophic consequences for humans and nature. In Côte d’Ivoire, a group of 11 villages filed a complaint once morest the Somina company for having discharged toxic products into the Baya River. After a conciliation mission dispatched by the authorities, the company undertook to reinforce the dykes and channels for the evacuation of waste water, as well as to drill drinking water in the 11 villages affected.
Senegal: the ordeal of foreign workers who build the city of Diamniadio
With its future sports facilities, its ministerial buildings and its headquarters of international organizations, the town of Diamniadio, located regarding thirty kilometers from Dakar, is a symbol of the “emerging” Senegal desired by President Macky Sall. However, the construction sites do not respect Senegalese labor legislation: mistreatment, lack of security and days off, derisory wages… The foreign workers, who mainly come from Nigeria, Guinea or Sierra Leone, complain regarding their poor working conditions and denounce accidents, endless days for very low pay and nights spent in unsanitary accommodation. The Senegalese office of Amnesty International even speaks of “inhuman conditions”.
