By Ishmael Bayoh
Hon. Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, on Saturday, 16th November 2024, told Sierra Leonean artists at the Embassy who are participating in the 15th edition of the Dak’Art that he was proud of their participation in showcasing their talents and marketing Sierra Leone.
The Hon. Vice President, who came to engage in several bilateral meetings with government officials of Senegal, joined the renowned group exhibition of Sierra Leonean artists exploring the ancestry of freed enslaved people, feminism in Africa, tribal unity, postconflict transitional justice and African landscapes, which is happening for the first in the history of Dakar’s Biennale.
After his conducted tour of the Sierra Leonean arts, exhibited at the embassy, the VP said he was proud that Sierra Leone participated in the Biennale, and further said, “I am happy that the Minister of Culture, Mrs Nabeela Tunis, is coming in the next few days to Dakar to come to see how we can organise and promote our talents in Sierra Leone. We have lots of artists, people that can carve, people that can draw that are in the villages and towns, and how we can bring them out so they can display their talents at a national event that would be organised in the future”.
Accompanied by the Sierra Leone Ambassador, H.E Ibrahim Turay, the VP also visited the art exhibition at the old courthouse in Dakar, where he was led to the works of a Sierra Leonean artist, Masoud Olufani, who is among 57 other artists across the globe, whose works were exhibited during this Biennale. He also visited another exhibition site at the Ministere de la Culture Galerie Nationale D’Art.
This is the first group exhibition of Sierra Leonean artists and the first time the Embassy of Sierra Leone is opening its doors to welcome Biennale visitors.