in the Republic of Senegal 2022
From May 2 to 13, the Republic of Senegal hosted the first overseas art session of the Innopraktika & Russian Seasons School. The preparations for the session’s launch had been underway since last year. The School was founded by the Innopraktika company and the Russian Seasons cultural project.
Sixteen talented painters and sculptors from seven African countries were selected from more than 100 applications. Students from the Republic of Cameroon, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo came to Dakar, the capital of Senegal, to create artworks on a given topic under the responsive guidance of four teachers from the Ilya Repin St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts.
The course took place at the Place du Souvenir Africain, a large cultural cluster on the Atlantic coast, supported by the École Nationale des Arts et Métiers de la Culture (the National School of Arts and Crafts in Dakar). The course began with sprint sketches from nature. Young artist, sculptors and their mentors acted as models, and the task of the rest of the students was to catch the basic movements, pose and character of the model in 8 minutes. Preparing final qualification works was the second stage of training. Participants were working on an art piece for two weeks, reflecting on the session’s topic: “Creativity Unites: Preserving Global Values.” The session concluded with a qualification work presented at the exhibition in Dakar.
École Nationale des Arts et Métiers de la Culture in Dakar is an institution providing elementary, secondary, and higher professional education. The main task of the institution is to provide academic training in the performing arts and fine arts, as well as in the organization of cultural events. École Nationale des Arts et Métiers de la Culture also educates private sector civil servants and foreign nationals. This institution is the main instrument used by the Republic of Senegal to promote research and education in the field of art and culture.
After graduating from high school, Anastasia Nikolaeva was admitted to the department of painting at the Repin Institute without exams! Here she studied at the studio of monumental painting under the guidance of People's Artist of the USSR, Professor A. A. Mylnikov. Anastasia also completed an internship at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, participated in many Russian and international competitions and exhibitions, and upon completion of her studies she was awarded a scholarship trip to Italy. Anastasia is a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists, as well as a winner of the Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Ilya's diploma work at the Russian Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg was dedicated to the historical theme of Russia and was highly appreciated by the state grading commission as well as being awarded a gold medal! IlyaZorkin is a member of the Russian Artists Association and the head of the 1st-year workshop of the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. He works mainly in oil, soft pastel and charcoal. Ilya’s art is distinguished with his expressive manner together with clear lines. His works are exhibited in many museums, as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.
Ekaterina was born in Chelyabinsk. She graduated from the Repin Academy of Fine Arts and completed an internship at the Creative Sculpture Workshop of the Russian Academy of Arts. Ekaterina is a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists, a participant of Russian and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 2019. Her graduation project – a bust of Fyodor Volkov, the founder of the Russian theater – is installed in the lobby of the Alexandrinsky Theater, and a portrait of P. Tchaikovsky made by Ekaterina adorns the concert hall of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (Germany). The sculptural portrait of L. N. Tolstoy was also sculptured by Ekaterina Pilnikova and was installed in Seoul, South Korea as part of the Russian Seasons in 2021!
Vladimir Brodarsky graduated from art school in Odessa. He is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, a participant of the International Festival of Academies in Turin (Italy) and the Venice Biennale of Architecture. Now he is a well-known sculptor and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts. In his works, Vladimir declares anthropocentrism. He studies and admires a human being, thoughtfully tries different epochs, states and situations, using the human body as an ideal object for observation.
Abdoulaye Ndiaye was born in Saint-Louis, Senegal. After finishing high school in 2019, he enrolled in the Virtual University of Senegal (UVS). In 2020, he participated in the National Art Competition (ENA) and won in the student-teacher nomination. Abdoulaye took part as well in numerous competitions and art workshops both in Saint-Louis and in Dakar and received lots of awards. Abdoulaye was a resident of the Saint-Louis collective exhibition in 2021. The artist also became the first prize laureate of the National Painting Competition, which was organised by the delegation of the European Union in Senegal together with the Ministry of Culture and Communications in 2022.
Diaw Sall was born in Ndindi, a village located 25 km from the city of Diourbel, Senegal. She took interest in art as a teenager, but the girl's parents were against her engaging in creative work. In 2018, she entered the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences in Dakar. A year later, Diaw successfully completed preparatory courses in plastic art and in 2020, in the result of a competitive selection, she was enrolled in the program for the training of art education tutors.
Ibrahima Sori Kaba was born in Forecariah, Guinea. Ibrahima adored art from a young age. In Conakry, he attended ADAMS private school from 2011 to 2012. From 2012 to 2016, he went through the middle and high school program at the private institution of Hadj Maladho Diallo. After finishing high school, the young man entered the Mory Kante Higher Institute of Arts in Dubreka (ISAMK-D). In 2019, Ibrahima received a bachelor's degree, graduating with honours, painting being his major. He also took additional courses in his major, as he studied at the French-Guinean cultural centre Conakryniarof#24, and also received puppets creating training in Dubreka, Guinea. In 2021, the young man completed his studies at the Mory Kante Higher Institute of Arts in Dubreka (ISAMK-D). Currently Ibrahima has a workshop where he works hoping to get the opportunity to help other young artists someday.
Youssoupha Camara demonstrated interest in fine arts from an early age: as a child, Youssoupha often redraw cartoon characters, and later began trying his hand in the depiction of landscapes. In 2014, he finished school and entered the Faculty of Humanities, where he studied for two years. Unable to fulfil himself in philology, he left the Cheikh Anta Diop University for the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (ENAMC) in Dakar, where he began studying fine arts. After four years of studies, Youssoupha graduated from the National School with honours.
Sidime Sidikibа was born in Kankan, Republic of Guinea. In 2014, he received the title of the best young sculptor in Guinea. In the same year, Sidime took part in an art training in Casablanca with ITQAN. In 2017, he represented Guinea at the World Fair in Astana, Kazakhstan. Later, in 2018, Sidime became a student of the Mory Kante Higher Institute of Arts in the city of Dubreka, Republic of Guinea.
Adama Fall paints, practices computer graphics and creates storyboards. Immediately after graduating from school and passing the exams in 2016, he managed to pass the competition in the National School of Arts (École Nationale des Arts, ENA). Now it is the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (Ecole Nationale des Métiers des Arts et de Culture, NAME). In 2020 he received a diploma of higher artistic education (Diplôme de Fin d'études Supérieures Artistiques, DEFESA) majoring in plastic arts. Currently, Adama is a teacher of fine arts at a dependent school in St. Louis, and also teaches multimedia at the Virtual University of Senegal.
Kun Kaatiman is a Senegalese artist, known primarily for his paintings and his creativity in the field of plastic art. His real name is Mame Cheikh Anta Mbacke Ndao, but since 2018 the artist has been using the pseudonym Kun Kaatiman. Kun Kaatiman began studying fine arts in early childhood. At the age of 14, he began to get acquainted with local and self-taught artists. These acquaintances helped him to develop his artistic taste and allowed him to explore the life of plastic artists. It was 2014 that had the most significant impact on his creative development, as Kun went to the Dakar Art Village for the first time. There he met a gallery owner named Omar Diack, who gave him a program, told him about artists and the 1966 festival of Black Arts. In 2015, having passed the exams, Kun Kaatiman took the preparatory courses in plastic art at the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (École Nationale des Métiers des Arts et de Culture, ENAMC) in Dakar. Two years later, he participated in the competition of students-teachers of plastic art education and won it. Now he is a certified tutor in the Department of training plastic art education teachers and heads of art collectives. Kun Kaatiman studies painting, cardboard sculpture, batik and many other techniques. He took part in many cultural events, including a collective exhibition with JAA Bourkina Fasso in 2018, which was dedicated to the environment, a 2019 collective exhibition at the Kaay Fecc festival at the Blaise Senghor Cultural Center in Dakar, a collective exhibition at the Festival of the Islands of Casamance in 2020, as well as a solo exhibition at the gallery "The Hub Dakar". In addition, in 2019, Kun Kaatiman, together with his manager, friend and co-author Zako, launched the "Aaru loxo" project. As part of this project, they work with textiles, paint and decorate any clothes.
Nourhene Ghazel graduated from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Tunisia in 2013, majoring in painting, and in 2015 she received a master's degree in fine arts. She is currently preparing her doctoral dissertation and studying art at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Sousse. She had internships in the restoration of ancient paintings and mosaics at several archaeological sites in Tunisia. Nourhene received the first prize at the Digital Arts Festival of Nabeul in 2013. Nourhene Ghazel is a visual artist, graduate student and researcher at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Sousse, and has repeatedly participated in collective exhibitions, as well as travelled to art residences in Tunisia, Mali, Barcelona and France.
Mutombo Kalunga Demerge is a plastic artist, poet and musician who showed his love for art from an early age. He was born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and immediately immersed himself in the study of drawing, and then painting. Demerge is a figurative artist who received a classical academic art education. He draws inspiration in the modern era and leans towards the hyperrealistic direction in his artworks, bringing impressionist features to this style. In 2011, he stepped into the world of creativity and entered the Institute of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, where he passed his final exams in painting in 2015. The artist continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, majoring in painting, received a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 2018, and then, in 2021, a master's degree with honours. He is a member of the "Art and Life" community, created by him and his friends in 2019. To date, the community has created two large murals, one of which is located at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa, and the other at the German Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition, “Art and Life” has held two collective exhibitions. Demerge's creative plans include writing, plastic art, painting and music.
Martine was born in Bagno, Cameroon. She has always devoted her spare time to drawing and painting. Martine's creative path was determined by the meeting with the artist Olivier Dende in 2008 during the Coca Cola all school competition. She was also much influenced by the meetings with other artists, namely the artist and journalist Jean-Marie Ahanda and the watercolorist Tchebetchou. After getting to know the garment industry at the private secondary school of Fapo, literature at the Nkol-Eton High School and studying at the University of Yaounde-I (NGOA-EKELE) at the Department of Iberian, Ibero-American and Italian Studies, Martine finally returned to painting and began to take her first steps in this domain. This turn towards painting became possible thanks to the Congolese artist and painter Olivier Dende. Since then, she has devoted herself entirely to art. Martine's paintings can be found in many cultural institutions of Cameroon. Her latest exhibition is called "Nature and Beauty" because those are the main sources of her inspiration.
Paul Alden Mvoutoukoulou was born in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), where he has been living and working up to this day. He entered the National School of Fine Arts of Brazzaville in 2006, and simultaneously conducted painting workshops in Poto-Poto. After graduating from university in 2010, he got acquainted with graphics in the Graphik'noir team and has been searching for harmony between graphics and painting ever since. Paul believes in the power of healing through art and develops his own artistic semantics. He collects empty medicine packages to create polymorphic works reflecting his contemplations on the reconciliation of mankind, the restoration of society, the rapprochement of peoples and their histories. Paul Alden has participated in many exhibitions both on the African continent and in Europe. In 2018, he was one of the artists selected for the thirteenth Dakar Biennale in Senegal, and in 2017 his work was presented as part of the Lille3000 cultural program in Lille (France) at the "Afriques Capitales" exhibition.
Eudes Rama was born in North Mutanga, Bujumbura, Burundi. Since early childhood, Eudes has shown a craving for art. In 2012, when he was 17, Eudes and his friends opened an art club in their high school. This was the future artist’s first confident step in the domain of art. From 2014 to 2018, Eudes studied computer science at the Lake Tanganyika University. In 2018, the young man returned to painting, having organised and participated in many art exhibitions in Burundi.
Alassane Sow was born in Dakar. In 2014, he started studying simultaneously at the National Customs School and the Virtual University of Senegal. And now Alassane is a student at the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (École Nationale des Métiers des Arts et de Culture, ENAMC). Since childhood, he has adored art and often made various crafts with his own hands. As for Alassane's art, it is mainly related to nature.
Mbaye Sarr was born in Bambey Serere, Senegal. In 2016, he entered the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, where he studied at the Faculty of Philology and Humanities for two years. For the next two years, Mbaye studied at the National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology, until in 2020 he managed to pass a competition at the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (École Nationale des Métiers des Arts et de Culture, ENAMC) in Dakar for a course of students-teachers of art education.
Adama Thiam paints, practices computer graphics and creates storyboards. Immediately after graduating from school and passing the exams in 2016, he managed to pass the competition in the National School of Arts (École Nationale des Arts, ENA). Now it is the National School of Crafts, Arts and Culture (Ecole Nationale des Métiers des Arts et de Culture, NAME). In 2020 he received a diploma of higher artistic education (Diplôme de Fin d'études Supérieures Artistiques, DEFESA) majoring in plastic arts. Currently, Adama is a teacher of fine arts at a dependent school in St. Louis, and also teaches multimedia at the Virtual University of Senegal.
Mouyoungui Boungou is from Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. He is a graduate of the Poto-Poto School of Painting. His favourite subjects are portraits of women and children. In 2013, he was a participant of Les Ateliers Sahm (multidisciplinary centre for Contemporary Art in Brazzaville), where he got acquainted with contemporary art practices. The artist also took part in the "From Poto-Poto to The Ateliers Sahm Workshops'' exhibition in 2014. Participating in the RIAC evenings (international meetings of contemporary art), Mouyoungui received several awards, including a trip to the art residence at the Fondation Blachère Art Center in Apt and a week-long trip to Paris thanks to a scholarship from the Institut Francais in Congo. He also spent three months in the art residence at the Gasteatelier in Aarau, Switzerland, and the Montévidéo Art Center in Marseille. Along with the creative workshops of Les Ateliers Sahm, Mouyoungui Boungou participated in the Dakar Biennale with the "Aesthetics unlimited by geography" project in 2014, 2016 and 2018.