Among the 39 galleries participating this year in AKAA, taking place between October 18th and 20th, at Carreau du Temple, are Movart and This is Not a White Cube, with spaces in Luanda and Lisbon, according to a statement from the fair.
The first and main contemporary art fair centered on Africa to be held in France, it will, in its 9th edition, "continue to highlight the conversations that Africa has with the Americas and the Caribbean, in particular by highlighting the overseas scene", according to the organization.
The fair, "reflects an Africa with many facets that transcends borders and whose voices resonate throughout the world, driven by the vision of each artist", contextualizes the organization in a first statement about the event, which lists the galleries already selected by the committee made up of curators Bénédicte Alliot, Ifeoma Dike, Anne Villepois and Victoria Mann.
With around half of French galleries, in addition to the two galleries from Angola and one from Portugal, Uganda, South Africa, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Egypt, Switzerland and Belgium will also be represented.
The Movart gallery, founded in Luanda in 2017, with space also in Lisbon since 2020, is a project by Janire Bilbao that has been present at art fairs in Madrid, Paris, London, New York and Miami.
Currently, in Luanda, it is mainly dedicated to supporting artists' residency projects to discover new talents, while in Lisbon it promotes exhibitions that aim to introduce new names into the art market.
This is Not a White Cube is another gallery born in Luanda and also with space in Lisbon, which works with emerging and established artists, and whose activity program focuses on discussions associated with the African continent and its diaspora, but not exclusively with Lusophone artistic creation.
AKAA is one of the events that are part of the autumn Paris Art Week, and is dedicated to the artistic scenes of Africa and its diasporas, challenging the public to discover artists who claim a connection in their practice to the African continent.
"A contemporary look at these artistic scenes that goes beyond geographical borders, open to dialogue, discovery and astonishment, without clichés or prejudices", highlights the organization, which closer to the art and design event will come forward with the names of the artists gifts.
