For its second edition in 2021, the Biennale Internationale de Sculpture de Ouagadougou (BISO) will be held this year from October 8 to November 8, 2021 and will focus on the theme of « L’Aventure Ambiguë », paying tribute to the significant work of Senegalese author Cheikh Hamidou Kane.
In this book with strong personal suggestions, the writer follows the tortured journey of young Samba Diallo, exploring between the otherness of his Diallobé country and the liberal Western world he comes up against.
Through this subject, artists are invited to explore the complexity of today’s identities, in a supposedly post-globalization period. A complex period, marked by the theme of our interdependencies and where thoughts of otherness, sexual orientation, our relationship with nature, are being redefined.
The artist’s own experience is itself full of ambiguities, as is the idea of contemporary African art that he or she is sometimes pushed to absorb.
As the leading biennial devoted to contemporary sculpture on the African continent, the BISO 2021 wishes to highlight the richness and unification of the contemporary art scene in this country located in the heart of West Africa, Burkina Faso, which has a long tradition of sculpture, notably with the lost-wax bronze method, nurtured in communities and in family workshops.
During this second edition, artists such as Abou Sidibé, Boureima Ouedraogo, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Charly d’Almeida, Ferdaws Chamekh, Hélène Kelhetter, Henry Kibeti, Indépendance Dougnon, Kader Kabore, Mehdi-Georges Lahlou, Mehryl Levisse, Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, Ouadiata Traore, Oumar Ball, Pedro Pires, Sahab Koanda, Turiya Magadlela, Yveline Tropéa are expected.
The activities of the second edition of the International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou
Artists’ residencies
Various artistic residencies will take place, and will be one of the characteristics of the International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou (BISO) 2021. This edition will bring together more than twenty artists from various distinct African nations.
Among them, fifteen will participate in three-week to one-month residencies in Ouagadougou, in the studios of Burkinabe artists and designers.
Motivated by the city and its practices, these artists will work with the materials on site in direct collaboration with the artisans, in an exceptional exchange of experience and skill.
The BISO OFF program
Around the exhibition of the Biennale Internationale de Sculpture de Ouagadougou (BISO), numerous events and OFF exhibitions will be coordinated in the city of Ouagadougou and arranged by Studio Hamed Ouattara.
Twenty or so workshops, exhibitions and art centers will become known to the general public, reinforcing the dynamism of the city’s artists’ organizations and their public and global perception.
Among these venues are the design studios of the Lukaré Center and Kader Kabore‘s KA-YIIRI workshop, using local materials to create unique furniture.
Painting and drawing will be addressed by the Maanéré Workshops, among others. Hangar 11, created by a group of artists, will feature works, installations, sculptures and performances.
Cultural workshops
One of the objectives of the International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou (BISO) 2021 is to participate in the access to art and culture of the populations.
For this 2021 version, the International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou (BISO) will set up different educational workshops (initiation to modeling, drawing, assembling) open to a young public and sometimes far from culture.
These workshops will be animated by artists of the region and by some artists welcomed in residence within the framework of the event. It will also be taken into account, the access of the exhibition BISO by the participative engagement of the young public will be worked throughout the biennial by guided tours.
Round tables and training
Several round tables open to the public will be coordinated during the biennial. They will bring together artists and cultural animators with international speakers on the themes of contemporary creation in Africa, training and the perceptibility of artists.
In correspondence with the biennale, different courses and masterclasses will be presented to the artists. The training of artists in digital tools will also be a central point of this second edition.