Yacouba Konaté (born 4 May 1953) is an Ivorian

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, writer and art critic. He is a professor of philosophy at the Université de Cocody in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, Ivory Coast.

Career

He is a member of l'Académie des Arts, des Sciences et des Cultures d'Afrique et des Diasporas in Abidjan and he leads the Africa Office of the Jean Paul Blachère's Foundation. In 1998, he was Fulbright Professor at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, between 2004–2008, he taught at l'

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (, EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conj ...

in France. In 2007, he taught at the

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

in Canada and in 2007, he was a Carter Fellow at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, Gainesville. In 2008, he became the president of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). He is expert on the cultural development of "

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

". In 2000, he served as a Director of the National Institute of Arts and Culture and as a Director of the Cabinet of Ministers of Culture and

Francophony The (OIF; sometimes shortened to ''La Francophonie'', , sometimes also called International Organisation of in English) is an international organization representing where there is a notable affiliation with French language and culture. ...

. He is also head of the l'Institut national supérieur des Arts et de l'action culturelle of Abidjan. He was one of the curators of individual exhibitions of 6th Dak'Art ( 7 May – 7 June 2004 ) with Ivo Mesquita and

Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...

. In 2006, he was the Artistic Director of the

Dakar Biennale The Dakar Biennale, or Dak'Art - Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Dakar, Senegal. Dak'Art's focus has been on Contemporary African Art since 1996. History ...

Exhibitions

* "Africa, Assume Art Position!" (12/11/2010-30 January 2011) Primo Marella Gallery, Milano, 2010. A group exhibition of artists included: Mounir Fatmi, Cameron Platter, Soly Cissé,

Barthélémy Toguo Barthélémy Toguo (born 1967) is a Cameroonian painter, visual and performing artist. He currently splits his time living and working in both Paris, France and Bandjoun, Cameroon. He works in a variety of media aside from visual and perfor ...

Abdoulaye Konaté Abdoulaye Konaté (1 February 1953) is a Malian artist. He was born in Diré and lives and works in Bamako. Konaté studied painting at the Institut National des Arts de Bamako and then at the Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba. Early ...

, Joel Andrianomearisoa, Peter Eastman, Nandipha Mntambo, Moridja Kitenge Banza, Stuart Bird, Athi Patra Ruga, Vitshios Mwilambwe Bondo * "AfriqueEurope: Reves croises" ( 14/11- 10/12/2007), Ateliers des Tanneurs, Brussels, Belgium. A group exhibition of artists included:

El Anatsui El Anatsui (; born 4 February 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his "Bottle cap, bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of Alum ...

, Nu Barreto, El Berry Bickle and Luis Basto,

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, also known as Cheik Nadro (11 March 1923 – 28 January 2014), was an Ivorian artist. Life and career Bouabré was born in Zépréguhé, Ivory Coast, and was among the first Ivorians to be educated by the French col ...

, Dilomprizulike, Mustapha Dime, EL Loko, Tapfuma Gutsa, Annie Haloba, Jak Katarikawe, Jems Robert Koko Bi, Abdoulaye Konate, Bill Kouelany, Siriki Ky, Ndary Lo, Toyin Loye, Churchill Madikida, Joel Mpah Dooh, Francis Mampuya, IngridMwangiRobertHutter, Serigne Niang, Babacar Niang, Samuel Olou, Freddy Tsimba, and Guy Bertrand Wouété. *

International Exhibition of Visual Arts (May 2001) *

Willie Bester Willie Bester (born February 29, 1956) is a South African painter, sculptor and collage artist. He is best known for his role in the protesting of the apartheid system through his artwork. He currently lives in Kuilsrivier, South Africa with his ...

Exhibition in Brussels (April 2001) * 2001 Foire Internationale Africaine Des Arts Plastiques (FIAAP) * "Afrique á jour" Exhibition in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

(September 2000) * "South Meets West" Exhibition in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

(December 1999 and June 2000) * "Africa Africa: Vibrant New Art from a Dynamic Continent" (11/9–24 November 1998) curated by Rajae Benchemsi, Rob Burnet, Yacouba Konaté, Toshio Shimizu, Jean-Hubert Martin, Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo

Publications

* Yacouba Konaté, ''Alpha Blondy: reggae et société en Afrique noire'', CEDA, 1987. * Yacouba Konaté, '' Christian Lattier, Le sculpteur aux mains nues'', Edition Sépia, 1993. * Yacouba Konaté, '' La Biennale de Dakar. Pour une esthétique de la création africaine contemporaine. Tête à tête avec Adorno'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2009, * Yacouba Konatè, ''Cote D'Ivoire Contrastes'', Hardcover, Publisher: Edipress; First edition 1991, Language: French, 128 pages, ASIN: B000BNKT6Q * Yacouba Konatè, ''Sacrifices dans la ville. Le citadin chez le devin'', Editions Douga, Abidjan 1990.

References

Bibliography

*
Croquis de frontières, profils de passeurs. L'art contemporain en perspective
', Bâle, Ed. Centre d'études africaines cop. 2009, 45 p, foto's. ; 24 cm, , * Marc Le Pape, Claudine Vidal, ''Côte d'Ivoire: l'année terrible, 1999–2000'', KARTHALA Editions, 2002. * ''Magiciens de la Terre : l'étrange destin africain d'une exposition mondiale'', in Trente ans du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Centre Pompidou, 2007 *
Musées en Afrique: esthétique du désenchantement
', in Revue Africultures, n° 70, Paris, 2007 (in French)[] *
Africains sur le marché mondial de l'art
' in Revue Esprit, Vues d'Afrique, Paris, August–September 2005, pp. 91–100 (in French) *
Côte d'Ivoire: Le canari d'eau de Jacques Chirac
', in Politique Africaine n° 97, Ed Karthala, Paris, April 2005 (in French) * ''Zeina, Fodé et Yanguiné. Flash sur des jeunes gens en désespérance'' in Débats, Courrier d'Afrique de l'Ouest, n°6 et 7, Abidjan, Inades, juillet 2003, pp. 55–60. Détresse morale et sociale de quelques segments de la jeunesse africaine (in French) *
Les enfants de la balle. De la FESCI aux mouvements des jeunes patriotes
' In Politique Africaine, n° 89, Ed Karthala, mars 2003, pp. 49–70 (in French) *
Génération Zouglou
', in Cahiers d'études africaines (Editions de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 2003 (in French) * ''Le destin d'Alassane Dramane Ouattara'' in Côte d'Ivoire. L'année terrible. 2000–2001, Ed Karthala, Paris, 2002, pp. 253–308 *
Faire ou ne pas faire nègre. Pour une critique d'art démasquée
' In the book ''Histoire de 50 ans de l'Association Internationale des critiques d'Art/AICA'' Ed. Aica Press, Paris, 2002. pp 65–72. * ''Art contemporain africain et nouvelles identités'', in Dak'Art 2002. 57th Contemporary Art Biennial (Dakar, La biennale des arts, 2002) pp. 135–138 ''Pourquoi certains artistes d'Afrique récusent-ils le label d'artiste africain ?'' * Article entitled "''Pluralité des normes de légitimité et comportements politiques''", in the book of ''Inégalités et politiques publiques en Afrique. Pluralité des normes et jeux d'acteurs'', Karthala, IRD, Paris, 2001, pp. 163–180, * Article entitled ''Quand le monde s'éveillera à la danse africaine'' In FAMA , Body in Difference, Dance. Laudeshaupstadt, Munchen, Kulturreferat, 2000, pp. 24–27. Festival de la Nouvelle Danse,

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 28 September – 2 October 1999. *
Sous la direction de Yacouba Konaté
Etat et société civile en Afrique. Actes du colloque interdisciplinaire sur Etat et société civile en Afrique'', Université d'Abidjan-Cocody, 13–18.July.1998. Revue QUEST. Groningen. Pays-Bas, 1999.

External links

Presentation delivered at the 'Curating the Other – Curator as Tourist' seminar, in Dartington College of Arts by Yacouba Konaté , entitled "Dak'Art: Centralization Effects of a Peripheral Biennale"

An interview of Yacouba Konatè on "Cote-ivoire.com" dated 12.november.2009 (in french)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konate, Yacouba 1953 births Living people Art critics African art curators Art directors Ivorian writers Academic staff of Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Ivorian male writers Academic staff of Université Laval