Revelation! Contemporary art from Benin

Under the patronage of Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic

"Revelation! Contemporary Art from Benin" offers a panoramic tour of contemporary art from Benin.

Bringing together some forty artists and a hundred or so works, some of them previously unseen, this new exhibition in the heart of the Palais royal de la Cité, the seat of Capetian power and echoing the royal palaces of ancient Danxomé, highlights the extent to which the inspiration of contemporary artists is rooted in the tradition and history of Benin.

Through a diversity of media and supports (painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, installation, performance, design, fashion design, etc.), the vitality and uniqueness of the artistic scene in Benin and its diaspora are revealed through a selection of works.

Goddesses and Gods

This section evokes the metamorphosis of the goddesses and gods who animate the Vodun cult.

Queens and Kings

This section honours the power and earthly glory of the memorable kings and queens of Abomey.

Women and Men

The works bear witness to those who live and struggle today in a globalised world.

The exhibition brings together the work of forty-two artists (in alphabetical order): Georges Adéagbo, Laeïla Adjovi, Ishola Akpo, Euloge Ahanhanzo-Glèlè, Eliane Aïsso, Edwige Aplogan, Aston, Youss Atacora, François Aziangué, Moufouli Bello, Sébastien Boko, Charly d'Almeida, Emo de Medeiros, Sènami Donoumassou, Kifouli Dossou, Stevens Dossou-Yovo, Ludovic Fadaïro, Dimitri Fagbohoun, Meschac Gaba, King Houndékpinkou, Nobel Koty, Dominique Gnonnou Kouas, Marcel Kpoho, Eric Médéda, Roméo Mivekannin, Fabrice Monteiro, Louis Oké Agbo, Thierry Oussou, Yves Apollinaire Pèdé, Gérard Quenum, Rémy Samuz, Julien Sinzogan, Hector Sonon, Tchif, Epaphras Dègnon Toïhen, Cyprien Tokoudagba, Prince Toffa, Julien Vignikin, Didier Viodé, Nathanaël Vodouhè, Ponce Zannou, Dominique Zinpkè.

Initially presented at the Palais de la Marina in Cotonou in February 2022 as part of the diptych exhibition " Art du Bénin d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, de la restitution à la révélation: Trésors royaux et Art contemporain du Bénin", this exhibition was an opportunity to reveal the classical art of Benin, the twenty-six royal treasures returned by France, and the contemporary art scene in Benin and its diaspora. The contemporary exhibition is due to travel to the Mohammed VI Museum in Rabat, Morocco, in January 2023, and then to the Fondation Clément in Martinique in December 2023.

This touring exhibition is part of the dynamic undertaken by the Republic of Benin to promote its contemporary art and its inclusion in international contemporary art circuits, and is a prelude to the Cotonou Museum of Contemporary Art (MACC), a major museum facility in Cotonou's developing Cultural and Creative Quarter.

The curators are Yassine Agnikè Lassissi, director of the visual arts department at ADAC, curator of the "Contemporary Art of Benin" exhibition in Cotonou, Rabat and Fort-de-France, and associate curator of the Benin pavilion at the Venice International Art Biennale in 2024, and Emmanuel Daydé, art historian and curator of the Ousmane Sow exhibition on the Pont des Arts in 1999 and of the Madagascar Pavilion with Joël Andrianomearisoa at the Venice Biennale in 2019.

Exhibition catalogue

"Revelation ! Contemporary art from Benin "Editions Hervé Chopin , 208 pages , 28,50 €Published October 2024

The exhibition diary

"Revelation! Contemporary art from Benin. Rendre visible l'invisible"Éditions du Patrimoine, 16 pages, €8

These 2 publications are on sale in our shop.

This exhibition was produced in partnership with Benin's Agence de développement des arts et de la culture (ADAC).

This exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture.