By Ishmael Bayoh
A collection of Sierra Leonean artists and art lovers, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Embassy in Dakar, held an exhibition on Saturday, November 9th, 2024, showcasing the vibrant and diverse artistic talents of Sierra Leone as part of the OFF of the 15th Dakar Biennale.
His Excellency, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on Thursday, 7th November, presided over the opening ceremony of this major event promoting culture in general and the art market in particular, attracting over 450,000 visitors and featuring more than 400 OFF exhibitions across Sénégal.
Sierra Leone is honoured to be part of this edition, as artists showcased their talents during a vernissage that was hosted at the Embassy, it is the first group exhibition of Sierra Leonean artists and the first time the embassy is opening its doors to welcome Biennale visitors under the theme “The Awakening”.The Sierra
Leone Art exhibition will run under the theme of “Past, Present, Future”.
Speaking at the exhibition, Sierra Leone’s new Ambassador to Dakar, His Excellency Mr. Ibrahim Turay, said the exhibition aligns with Sierra Leone’s Medium Term National Development Plan 2024- 2030 on transforming the tourism sector. He furthered that the Government of President Bio generally places a higher premium on this sector as one of the key areas for economic diversification and growth, with huge potential to contribute to job creation, revenue generation, and poverty alleviation.
Ambassador Turay said on Tuesday, 29th October, The Hon. Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, officially inaugurated the Women in Tourism Regional Congress in Freetown, organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with UN Tourism, as the event attracted over 600 delegates and stakeholders, to reshape the tourism landscape for African women through enhanced education, technological innovation, and improved access to finance.
As the new Ambassador of Sierra Leone, he continued that it was a great honour for the embassy to host a varnissage as part of the OFF program in collaboration with a collection of Sierra Leonean artists and art lovers. He thanked Naomi Schram Ndao and Yasmin Metz-Johnson, the producer and curator of the exhibition, for their hard work in ensuring its success. He envisaged a Sierra Leonean-led art festival in Freetown that would attract neighbouring countries to the beautiful and rich cultural heritage.
The OFF, or “Off Program”, is a collection of hundreds of private artistic events that take place around the Dakar Biennale. The OFF is a key part of the Dakar Biennale and is considered the spearhead of Senegal’s cultural diplomacy.
During this Biennale that runs from 7th November to December 7th, visitors will discover the works of artists from Africa and the diaspora. A short film titled Peace was shown, which was followed by a panel discussion in which the Ambassador was a panellist.
