Cécile Fakhoury

Championing art, from Abidjan to the wider world.

Something is happening on the contemporary African art scene. And Cécile Fakhoury is one of its key players. In September 2012, driven by life's twists and turns and a desire to get involved in the sector, she opened her first gallery in Abidjan an ambitious, uncluttered concrete cube in Cocody. In 2018, she opened a space in Dakar to be more in touch with her artists. She took her artists to Paris in October 2021, exhibiting their work at major contemporary art fairs. All the while imagining other ways to exhibit, and which cities to do it in. Over the years, she has staged nearly fifty major exhibitions, representing an entire generation of leading artists: Aboudia, Dalila Dalléas Bouzar, Jems Koko Bi, Vincent Michéa, Sadikou Oukpedjo, François-Xavier Gbré, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, not forgetting the immense Ouattara Watts, and many others.

Cécile Fakhoury champions the importance of art in emerging societies, and creates spaces for young people. However, the aim is to connect contemporary African art with the world's major art centres. To raise the profile of artists and their creativity. To build their reputation and get them into the big museums, too. It's a real and ongoing adventure.