AFROTOPIA EXHIBITION AT CASA AFRICA

Casa África hosted this collective exhibition in collaboration with ACERCA, a training programme for cultural development within the Spanish Cooperation framework. Established in 2005, ACERCA focuses on strengthening human capital in the cultural sector as part of Spain’s Culture and Development Strategy.

The exhibition featured a selection of works by 35 young African photographers, developed three consecutive ACERCA workshops led by Héctor Mediavilla in Dakar (Senegal), Niamey (Niger), and Bamako (Mali) in November 2017.

The exhibition originally opened from October 17, 2019 until February 2020.

Context and Concept

Afrotopia was the central theme of the 11th edition of the Rencontres de Bamako, Africa’s most established and prestigious photography biennale. The festival invited African artists to reflect on their future and on the role of the continent within a globalized world. This exhibition was part of that wider reflection and was first presented at the Conservatory of Multimedia Arts and Crafts (CAMM) in Bamako, in the festival’s Off programme.

The term Afrotopia, coined in 2016 by Senegalese writer, economist, and musician Felwine Sarr, proposes a new way of understanding Africa through a process of mental decolonization. In his work, Sarr questions the development models the continent should follow and encourages a shift away from Western-centric perspectives.

Instead, he envisions an “active utopia” in which Africa defines its own path—rethinking existing paradigms and building a future grounded in its own social, cultural, and economic realities.

Workshops and Artistic Process

Throughout the three workshops, participants were invited to develop their own photographic projects over a period of up to three weeks. Each proposal was discussed and refined collectively, ensuring alignment with the central theme of Afrotopia while fostering individual perspectives and creative freedom.