Burkina Faso, the country of upright men, which was the Upper Volta until 1984, occupies a special place in the cultural landscape of West Africa. Strongly marked by the personality of the revolutionary and statesman Thomas Sankara, the African Che Guevara, Burkina is full of cultural initiatives, talented artists and craftsmen who contribute to the visibility of the country on the international artistic scene.
Every two years, FESPACO (the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou) puts the spotlight on the capital. It awards the Yennenga Stallion. Not only does it allow professionals in the sector to meet on the Continent, but it also gives local populations access to pan-African productions through a network of associations and NGOs.
On the borders of arts and crafts, the second biennial international event is the SIAO (Salon International d'Artisanat de Ouagadougou). If it brings together artisans from around the world, it is the crafts of Africa that is honored for a week. The craft village of Ouagadougou also offers a panorama of regional production: textiles, carved ebony, decoration, jewelry ... Bronze work occupies a prominent place in Burkina. Numerous workshops of bronze-makers master the practice of lost wax bronze. The traditional productions which represent graceful women and animals are mainly intended for tourism, but many craftsmen exploit this technique for the creation of original works of art.
Around the bronze-makers, and the whole local ecosystem of creation and enhancement of art and culture, was held in 2019 the first edition of BISO (Biennale Internationale de Sculpture de Ouagadougou) under the patronage of the sculptor Siriki Ky.
Siriki Ki (né en 1953, Côte d'Ivoire)
Reine Mère
Result : 5200 €
The latter has already created in Laongo, 35 kilometres from Ouagadougou, a huge open-air sculpture museum on a granite outcrop, where artists from all over the world have come to make their hammers and chisels talk.
Design also occupies a special place in the artistic and artisanal landscape of Burkina Faso. Designers, entrepreneurs and creators of economic activity, three personalities stand out and work for the visibility of their production locally and internationally. Hamed Ouattara, Kader Kaboré and Inoussa Dao are part of this young generation committed to the government to enhance the economic impact of the creative industries.
Hamed Ouattara (né en 1971, Burkina Faso)
Meuble Gold
Result : 4160 €
The materials used are mainly wrought iron, local wood and salvaged objects, in the first place of which were the oil barrels that gave rise to a whole range of utilitarian objects; tables, chairs, sideboards, desks that rival in originality.
Talented visual artists are spread throughout the country. In the capital Ouagadougou, some of them are grouped together in artistic creation centres.
At the Ateliers Maanéré, artists who practice painting and drawing evolve. It is promoted by Christophe Sawadogo. As for Hangar 11, it was created by a collective dedicated to contemporary art which welcomes artists who work in painting, installations, sculpture and performers. Some "11" of the month the openings are accompanied by concerts.
The Villa Yiri Suma is another must-see in the cultural view of Ouagalaise. In the city centre, Villa Yiri Suma, which means "in the shade of a tree" in Bambara, is a place of work and residence for artists, and a centre for discovering traditional culture and the dynamism of the contemporary scene around cinema, theatre, dance, music and plastic arts.
Although the local art market is still underdeveloped, many Burkinabé artists now have international visibility and representation in galleries around the world. The patriarch of them, Siriki Ky, who was widely consulted by the national authorities, has made his large bronze totem poles, both poetic and massive, his trademark. His practice is in fact much more diversified, and it is a group of iron figures that can be discovered in the exhibition "Lend me your dream" that is currently touring Africa. Abou Traoré, based in Bobo Diolasso, subtly mixes tradition and modernity to produce lost wax bronzes that are prized by Western collectors.
Abou Traoré (né en 1960, Burkina Faso)
Kôrôlékô
Result : 24700 €
Adjaratou Ouedraogo, who herself created the Soarba artists' residence in the Gounghin district, is a sensitive artist who made her debut a few years ago in Paris with her works with thick pigments that evoke the questions of childhood. Several Burkinabé artists navigate between the continent and the West, and often land on the outskirts of Paris. This is the case of photographer Nyaba Léon Ouédraogo, co-founder of the BISO Biennial, he received the European Union prize at the Bamako Encounters and was a finalist for the Prix Pictet. His work has been shown at the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac.
Nyaba Ouédraogo (né en 1978, Burkina Faso)
Série : Les fantômes du fleuve Congo
Result : 5070 €
Hyacinthe Ouattara works with textiles and assembles with great finesse colourful spider webs. Saïdou Dicko, fascinated by shadows and silhouettes, makes them the recurring theme of his work as a photographer, video artist and painter.
Artists from elsewhere have found Burkina Faso a welcoming land for their practices. This is the case of Yveline Tropéa whose sometimes disturbing scenes, embroidered with pearls, are at the edge of art brut or the artist Paco&co who mixes fashion, crafts and plastic arts.