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Apr 13, 2026

Abidjan Art Week’s Night of Galleries Signals Rise of West Africa’s New Cultural Hub

AI Summary
Abidjan’s third‑edition Art Week featured a city‑wide “Night of the Galleries” that kept more than a dozen venues open late, highlighted the expansion of cultural sites across the metropolis and underscored the city’s ambition to become a leading centre for contemporary West African art.

On a recent weekday evening, a special bus tour whisked art lovers through over twelve galleries and museums that stayed open until midnight, offering a late‑night glimpse of the Abidjan Art Week programme.

The after‑hours event, dubbed the Night of the Galleries, was first trialled in January 2024 alongside the Africa Cup of Nations – a tournament that Côte d’Ivoire both hosted and won – and has become a staple of the festival’s third edition, which ran from Tuesday to Sunday.

Since its inception, the week has broadened its footprint, moving beyond the city centre to include venues such as the La Rotonde des Arts contemporary‑arts hub in the Plateau district and the Adama Toungara Museum of Contemporary Cultures (MuCAT) in the working‑class neighbourhood of Abobo.

Local collectors are emerging in force. MuCAT has hosted the Africa Foto Fair each year since 2022, and the Marché des Arts du Spectacle d’Abidjan – the city’s answer to the Dakar Biennale – is set to launch its 14th edition later this month.

A graffiti festival launched two years ago has transformed the perception of street art, with vibrant murals now adorning the façade of the La Pyramide building and several upscale hotels in Plateau.

Organisers stress that the festival’s growth should be independent of external validation. This year’s roster featured artists from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali, and the number of participating galleries more than doubled compared with previous editions.

Founder Yacouba Konaté, who also directs La Rotonde des Arts, highlighted the festival’s commitment to accessibility, arguing that art should not be seen as an elite pastime.

The opening tribute honoured Simone Guirandou‑N’Diaye, a pioneering Ivorian art historian whose legacy lives on through Galerie LouiSimone Guirandou, now run with her daughter Gazelle.

Among the week’s highlights, MuCAT presented Murmures d’Archives, a quieter, archival‑focused exhibition that concluded with an artists’ workshop and a DJ set.

In the upscale Cocody district, New York‑based artist Ouattara Watts staged a solo show at Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, drawing the Ivorian diaspora into dialogue with the local scene. Watts explained that his work aims to transcend borders, describing it as “a vision that goes beyond any map – it is the cosmos that I paint.”