Seydou Keïta was a Malian photographer known for his portraits of people and families he took at his portrait photography studio in Mali's capital, Bamako, in the 1950s. His photographs are widely acknowledged not only as a record of Malian society but also as pieces of art.
Malick Sidibé was a Malian photographer from a Fulani (Fula) village in Soloba, who was noted for his black-and-white studies of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako, Mali. Sidibé had a long and fruitful career as a photographer in Bamako, and was a well-known figure in his community. In 1994 he had his first exhibition outside of Mali and received much critical praise for his carefully composed portraits. Sidibé's work has since become well known and renowned on a global scale. His work was the subject of a number of publications and exhibited throughout Europe and the United States. In 2007, he received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, becoming both the first photographer and the first African so recognized. Other awards he has received include a Hasselblad Award for photography in 2003, an International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008), and a World Press Photo award (2010).
George Lilanga was a Tanzanian painter and sculptor, active from the late 1970s and until the early 21st century. He belonged to the Makonde people and lived most of his life in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania.
Georges Adéagbo is a Beninese sculptor known for his work with found objects.
Camille-Pierre Pambu Bodo, known as Bodo, was a painter and pastor from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He lived in Kinshasa. Bodo was one of the founders and key proponents of the Zaïre School of Popular Painting. His works, along with those of other artists, vigorously exemplify their belief in their capacity to create art that could change history.
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, also known as Cheik Nadro, was an Ivorian artist.
Seyni Awa Camara is a Senegalese sculptor, from the Jola ethnic group. She was born in Bignona, where she still lives.
Romuald Hazoumè is a Yoruba artist and sculptor, from the Republic of Bénin.
Jean "Johnny" Pigozzi, heir to the CEO of the automobile brand Simca, is an art collector, photographer and fashion designer. He lives in Geneva.
Contemporary African art is commonly understood to be art made by artists in Africa and the African diaspora in the post-independence era. However, there are about as many understandings of contemporary African art as there are curators, scholars and artists working in that field. All three terms of this "wide-reaching non-category [sic]" are problematic in themselves: What exactly is "contemporary", what makes art "African", and when are we talking about art and not any other kind of creative expression?
Esther Mahlangu is a South African artist. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage. She is one of South Africa's best known artists.
The Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) is a private collection created in 1989 by Jean Pigozzi, an Italian businessman, after his encounter with French independent curator, André Magnin. Magnin specializes in art from non-Western cultures, and especially sub-Saharan art. The CAAC came into being at a time when non-Western contemporary art was largely ignored on the international scene. It was founded shortly after the seminal exhibition The Magicians of the Earth at the Pompidou Center in Paris, curated by Jean-Huber Martin. It was the first truly international exhibition where contemporary works from all over the world were shown on an equal footing. As of May 2022, the collection was based in Geneva, Switzerland, but it "does not have a permanent exhibition venue".
Patrick Seguin is a French gallery owner specializing in French architect-designed furniture of the 20th century, and he is the founder of Galerie Patrick Seguin.
Cyprien Tokoudagba was a Beninese sculptor and painter. He was from Abomey, Benin.
Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere, known as J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, was a Nigerian photographer known for his work with unique hairstyles found in Nigeria.
Vodun art is associated with the West African Vodun religion of Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana. The term is sometimes used more generally for art associated with related religions of West and Central Africa and of the African diaspora in Brazil, the Caribbean and the United States. Art forms include bocio, carved wooden statues that represent supernatural beings and may be activated through various ritual steps, and Asen, metal objects that attract spirits of the dead or other spirits and give them a temporary resting place. Vodun is assimilative, and has absorbed concepts and images from other parts of Africa, India, Europe and the Americas. Chromolithographs representing Indian deities have become identified with traditional Vodun deities and used as the basis for murals in Vodun temples. The Ouidah '92 festival, held in Benin in 1993, celebrated the removal of restrictions on Vodun in that country and began a revival of Vodun art.
The International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures, also known as the Ouidah Festival, was first held in Ouidah, Benin in February 1993, sponsored by UNESCO and the government of Benin. It celebrated the transatlantic Vodun religion, and was attended by priest and priestesses from Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and the United States, as well as by government officials and tourists from Europe and the Americas. The festival was sponsored by the newly elected president of Benin, Nicéphore Soglo, who wanted to rebuild the connection with the Americas and celebrate the restoration of freedom of religion with the return to democracy. Artists from Benin, Haiti, Brazil and Cuba were given commissions to make sculptures and paintings related to Vodun and its variants in Africa and the African diaspora.
Simonet Biokou is a contemporary Beninese scrap metal artist. He has also appeared in film, playing himself in the 1998 film Divine Carcasse, in which his character is shown creating a sculpture using car parts. His works have been featured in major metropolitan museums including the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Moké, was a Congolese painter.
Yassine Balbzioui is a contemporary artist known for his multidisciplinary approach, including painting, performance, and installation art. He describes himself primarily as a painter, yet his oeuvre spans various media, integrating elements of fiction and reality.
