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Photoquai - Biennial of World images - Africa

French photographer Françoise Huguier, advocate for cultural diversity was appointed artistic director of the 3rd edition of Photoquai and invited Eyene to work on the Sub-African selection.

This photography biennial held along the Left Bank of the River Seine, is one of the most prestigious and most visited public art exhibitions in France (nearly 500,000 visitors between September and November 2011).

Created in 2007 by the Musée du quai Branly, a public institution whose remit is to preserve and promote art collections from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, Photoquai aims to give exposure to emerging photographers, and to those acclaimed in their country but less known beyond national or regional borders.

Eyene’s invitation was the outcome of a long-standing involvement with photography in Africa, notably as member of jury of Fondation Blachère Prize awarded at the Bamako Photography Biennale in Mali, in 2007 and 2009.

She aimed to challenge common stereotypes about Africa and the images associated to the continent; to expose to a public that knows very little about African photography the varied creativity emerging from Africa, given the very rare outlets offered Black photographers in France.

Photoquai’s African selection was the result of research trips by Eyene to Cameroon, South Africa and Zimbabwe, funded by Musée du quai Branly, to complement her prior knowledge of the African and Diaspora photography scene. The show featured 46 photographers from 30 countries including 8 sub-Saharan African photographers.

Brigitte Ollier ( 2011) in an article for Libération entitled Africa instills its energy into Photoquai highlighted the African selection: …the Africans are surprising. Their boldness honours their elders, whose practice is rooted in the history of photography.