Over one hundred artists exhibit work in Algiers

PANAF 2009 featured 130 artists from all over Africa, who exhibited the best of their work in Algiers, to the delight of art aficionados.

Art lovers were treated to six different art exhibitions in Algiers during the second Pan-African Festival, which ends Monday (July 20th).

Three major exhibitions, entitled African Design, African Women, and Contemporary Arts were staged at the Safex exhibition centre in the capital.

Work by Moroccan artist Rachid L'Mouddene was on display at the African Design exhibition. Morocco was not officially taking part in Panaf 2009.

Algerian artist Mohamed Yahiaoui (Yamo) displayed an intriguing piece made up of sparkling lights floating in a dark space.

"You can interpret this work any way you like," said Yamo. "It isn't easy to give emotions a material form… People have to go away and feel calm," the Tunis-based artist added.

"Designers are seeking to denounce consumer society by recovering waste and giving it more dignified artistic forms. It's about a spirit of consumerism that has polluted traditional African culture", said Zoubir Hellal, the commissioner of the Design section.

Hellal told Magharebia that he invited 28 designers to participate in the exhibition, which features jewellery, gold items, and clothing.

In the Contemporary Arts exhibition, artists offered "revised views" of life and fashion.

One of the most successful works was that of Tunisian artist Faten Roussi, who attacked polygamy in a piece consisting of four dolls, "the first of whom is divorced, the second is abandoned, the third is a widow, and the fourth is unfailingly charming".

The African Women exhibit involved 23 artists from 11 African countries.

Cities were a major theme in the female artists' work. A young Algerian artist, Amina Menia, presented a large work made of galvanised grey steel tubes. "I wanted to present a piece with an unexpected twist. You get to the end of it and you don't know whether the exhibition is finished or whether it's a building site."

The picture exhibition at the MAMA brought together the work of six Algerian photographers and 24 other African artists under the theme "Reflections of Africa".

It comprised over a hundred black-and-white and colour photographs of various styles and genres, the theme being Africa, its history, and its heritage.

Comic strips were also on display at the Safex centre. Strips belonging to the big names in Algerian comic art from the 1970s, such as Maz and Slim, were on display alongside those of young African cartoonists such as Georges Mabota of Mozambique and Moussa Adji and Adjim Dannegar of Chad.

"We have never before seen so many works of art of such high quality here in Algiers. Even in Algerian museums, you cannot find such a large number of works," said Mouloud, an engineer.

Ryma, a student of fine arts, said it was an opportunity to discover what is happening elsewhere in the world of contemporary art. "People sometimes focus on Europe and America. I was pleasantly surprised by the African artists."

Overall, the art exhibitions involved a total of 130 artists and five commissioners.

Algerian Minister of Culture Khalida Toumi promised in a speech given before media representatives that a plastic arts exhibition will be held every two years.