The photo taken on December 6, 2019 shows an exterior view of the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal. (Photo: Louis Denga/Xinhua)
The wonders of China come to life thanks to the brushes of African artists at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal’s capital.
DAKAR, May 19 (Xinhua) – The wonders of China come to life thanks to the brushes of African artists at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal’s capital.
A recently opened painting exhibition entitled “Perspectives from the Oceans: China Through the Eyes of African Artists” featured a vivid array of Chinese landscapes and scenes as seen by African painters.
A collaboration between China and Senegal, this exhibition showcased 39 paintings by 20 African artists from different countries, including Benin, Chad, Mozambique and South Africa.
These paintings, taken during their trip to China, showed vivid colors, the play of light and shadow, and the artists’ unique vision of this distant land.
Visitors take photos at the Museum of Black Civilizations, May 12, 2023, Dakar, Senegal. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
The work has already aroused the admiration of visitors, e.g. Semou Diouf, a high school student from Dakar who visited the exhibition with his classmates.
Fascinated by the painting titled “Morning Sun in Nanjing,” Diouf said, “I love how alive and vibrant this painting is. It makes me want to go to China one day.”
The Museum of Black Civilizations, where this exhibition is held, was built with the help of China and was inaugurated in 2018. During the museum’s opening ceremony, Senegalese President Macky Sall hailed it as a “gift from China”, symbolizing the friendship and solidarity between the Chinese and Senegalese peoples.
As a significant cultural project in Senegal, the museum aims to showcase the diversity of black civilizations while fostering exchange and dialogue between cultures and civilizations from around the world. Since its inauguration five years ago, it has become one of the main cultural monuments of Senegal and the African region, fully fulfilling its role of curator, exhibitor and educator.
Visitors take photos at the Museum of Black Civilizations, May 12, 2023, Dakar, Senegal. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Lamine Biaye, cultural mediator at the museum, expressed gratitude for China’s support for Senegal’s culture and heritage. “In addition to building the museum, the Chinese government’s support remains constant, whether it’s building infrastructure, providing materials, or the presence of a Chinese team,” he said in an interview with Xinhua.
Biaye also highlighted the growing cultural exchange between China and Senegal at the museum in recent years, citing the China Through the Eyes of African Artists exhibition and another ongoing exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the deployment of the Chinese medical mission.
He said these achievements are essential to promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries, whether through delegation visits or infrastructure development. ■