African Days of Art History - Journées Africaines d’Histoire de l’Art - Conference Report
Runette Kruger
The inaugural African Days of Art History / Journées Africaines d’Histoire de l’Art conference took place from the 7th to the 9th of April 2025 at the Libre Académie des Beaux-arts (LABA), Douala, Cameroon. EVC Expert Panel member Professor Paul-Henri Assako Assako, Director of LABA, was a core convener of this historic conference with special patronage by CIHA, the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art. In fact, the conference provided an opportunity to convene expert art historians from across Africa to found CHA Africa (Comité d'Histoire de l'Art Africa) as a member organisation to CIHA, the oldest art history organisation in the world. With the establishment of this chapter of CIHA, the international organisation will gain African members for the first time in its existence, making it a truly international platform.
LABA itself offers courses in product design, ceramic design, graphic design, fashion design, visual arts and art history, illustration and animation, and photography and video (link). Some of the student works were on view (Figs. 1 and 2).
Fig. 1: The FabLab at LABA with examples of design on display. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
Fig. 2: Ceramic ware by the LABA students with figurative and stylised painted decoration, waiting for the glaze layer. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
The conference was opened with welcoming and introductory words by Paul-Henri, Secretary General of CHA Cameroon, and Professor Narcisse Tchandeu, President of CHA Cameroon. A comprehensive inaugural key-note was delivered by Professor Bienvenu Bella, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1. The first session was given to perspectives on art history from representative experts from Benin, South Africa, Senegal and Cameroon, followed by presentations by CIHA president Professor Marzia Faietti, and Professor Marie Theres Stauffer, CIHA’s treasurer.
Fig. 3: EVC Expert Panel member Constant Amougui manning the technology desk and ensuring the smooth flow of the conference throughout. Fig. 4: Prof Romuald Tchibozo, Director of the National Institute of Arts, Archaeology and Culture (INMAAC), delivering a talk on art history perspectives in Benin. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
In the afternoon four round-table discussions covered topics such as methodological challenges, including lack of representation or misrepresentation, posed by AI for African art historians (Professors Tchibozo and Bodenstein) (Fig. 4); the renewal and dissemination of research topics (Professors Neliche and Assako Assako); art history and sustainability (Professors Worch-Ambara and Ndiaye); and how art history can address heritage and memory in Africa (Professors Zagre Kabore and Ondobo). The afternoon sessions ended with a presentation on the newly established academic journal Afrikaland Arts & Design by Paul-Henri, who will serve as its publishing director (Fig. 5). The day closed with the opening of the conference student exhibition showcasing photographic, mixed media, video and sculptural works (Figs 6-8).
Fig. 5: The official launch of the journal Afrikaland Arts and Design led by Prof Assako Assako. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
Fig. 6: Delegates enjoying the opening of the conference exhibition. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
Fig. 7: Photographic / mixed media work at the conference exhibition. Fig. 8: Yamo, 2024. Peine sombre. 80 x 100 cm. Photography. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
Day two of the conference was equally exhilarating. The morning session included an extended tour to five Galleries and Art Centres. Delegates were fortunate enough to visit and experience (i) Galerie MAM Art Contemporain (https://www.galeriemamdouala.com/) where they saw the painting and mixed media work of Claudie Poinsard and Soly Cissé. Poinsard’s series explores the isolation and loneliness of contemporary being (https://galerie-otero.com/en/portfolio/claudie-poinsard/), and her figures, visually isolated by their ever- present headphones, seem to disintegrate into the environment (Fig. 9); (ii) Annie Kadji Art Gallery (https://anniekadjiartgallery.com/), who were hosting, with the support of the Goethe Institute Cameroon, the exhibition Abafa(ba)zi / Those who die knowing, a body of printed and digital work curated by South African curator Thina Miya (Fig. 10); (iii) Bolo Art Space, founded by Edith Mbella which focusses on art by women and young artists (https://vantaart.com/art-spaces/douala/10-undefined); (iv) In and Off Art Centre – an interesting artist’s residency that functions as an ‘artist hotel’, with residents living and working for free. The residency was established by renowned Cameroonian artist Hako Hankson in 2013 to support emerging creatives in Cameroon (https://www.ohgallery.net/hako-hankson-prsentation).
Fig. 9: Claudie Poinsard. In the clouds II. Show: Retrouvailles / Reunion. Mixed media. 81 x 100 cm. Galerie MAM Art Contemporain, Douala, 2025. / Fig. 10: Sherie Margaret Ngigi. 2023. End femicide. Photography. Part of the show Abafa(ba)zi / Those who die knowing curated by Thina Miya. Annie Kadji Art Gallery, Bonapriso, Douala, with support from the Goethe Institute Cameroon. (Photograph Runette Kruger).
Significantly, Hankson’s own first exhibition was hosted by the fifth art centre that the delegates were fortunate enough to visit, namely the famed Doul’Art, demonstrating this centre’s impact on the Cameroonian and global art worlds. The art hub is described as “a contemporary art center and an experimental laboratory for new urban practices in African cities” (http://doualart.org/zone-de-presse/). We were graciously received by Doual’Art’s president, Mme Marilyn Douala Bell, who welcomed us and spoke about the centre and its footprint in Douala and beyond (Fig. 11). Besides functioning as a vital national and international cultural pivot for creatives through initiatives such as the hosting of the triennial Douala Urban Salon – described as “part of a reflection on the place and role of art as a revealer of history(s) but also a creator of meaning in the city” (http://doualart.org/sud/) – the centre hosts international students on higher education internships in such diverse fields as urban planning, architecture, fine arts, political science and urban sociology (http://doualart.org/about/). Needless to say, the delegates were somewhat starstruck to be able to experience the centre and its dynamic work in person.
Fig. 11. Mme Marilyn Douala Bell, president of Doul’Art , welcoming the African Days of Art History delegates to the centre. (Photograph Runette Kruger)
In the afternoon, hybrid sessions on Intertextuality, Intertemporality, and Transculturality of Visual Culture in Africa by Exploring Visual Cultures members addressed topics such as “How to Teach African Art History in a German Classroom” (Dr Ernst Wagner), “History as Art: Translations of Historical Memory Across Time, Space and Media” (Dr Lize Kriel), and an unfolding research project “(Un)told Stories of Cultural heritage in Africa” (Prof Runette Kruger). The last session of the conference addressed issues of provenance, restitution and the decolonisation of knowledge by Professors Julie Sissia (“Franco-German Fund for Research on the Provenance of Cultural Goods”); Brigitte Nga Ondigui (“Decolonizing Knowledge and Rewriting the Self: An Example of the ‘M’mouat’ Costume Among the Fan”); Yaëlle Biro (“Authenticity in Question: Canon Training and the Art Market”); Felicity Bodenstein (“The digitalbenin.org project: Past, Future and Provenances”); and Idrissou Njoya (“The Mandu-Yenu Throne: A Gift or a Forced Consent?”).
The day closed with an inaugural meeting to establish the Committee of Art History Africa. As mentioned, a key focus of the historical conference was to ensure the representation and membership of African art historians to the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA). It will be exciting to see how CHA Africa grows as an organisation on a global stage, representing the interests, concerns and knowledge creation pertaining to African arts and society.
On the evening of the following day, Professor El Hadji Malick Ndiaye, curator of the Théodore Monod Museum of Arican Art, Dakar, hosted the World Festival of Negro Arts: Building a Pan-African Consciousness event in collaboration with JAHA (African Days of Art History) (Fig. 12). This event served as a fitting capstone for the memorable inaugural conference attended by African art historians and experts from across the continent.
Fig. 12: Professor El Hadji Malick Ndiaye, curator of the Théodore Monod Museum of Arican Art, Dakar, opening the World Festival of Negro Arts: Building a Pan-African Consciousness event. (Photograph by JAHA conference team).