In Dakar, a graffiti festival connects artists, cultures and ideas

Graffiti creation in process as part of Festigraff 2014. Dakar, Senegal.

For 10 days in April, graffiti artists from around the world gathered in Dakar, Senegal for the fifth annual Festigraff, the Festival international de Graffiti en Afrique/Senegal. While the term “graffiti” can carry a negative connotation, spray can art is Dakar’s most ubiquitous urban art expression, ranging from vandalism to approved and encouraged art. As… Continue reading In Dakar, a graffiti festival connects artists, cultures and ideas

Reblog: In Accra, an art festival capitalizes on streetscape as public space in Jamestown

“In Ghana, what attracts people to places isn’t the [physical] space, it’s the event,” a friend said to me in conversation a few weeks ago. I was reminded of his words this past weekend, standing at the triangle-shaped Otublohum Square in Jamestown. As I watched, bike stuntmen paraded up and down High Street, doing tricks… Continue reading Reblog: In Accra, an art festival capitalizes on streetscape as public space in Jamestown