Arts Village
The Dakar Arts Village (Village des Arts) is located in Yoff, less than thirty minutes from the Terrou-Bi luxury hotel. A one-of-a-kind destination, it offers a memorable immersion into the heart of contemporary Senegalese artistic creation. In an unusual location, it's a melting pot of talent and creativity for insiders of contemporary African art as well as for laymen open to the visual arts in all their forms of expression.
The Terrou-Bi is at your service to organize a day's visit to a site emblematic of Senegal's cultural dynamism: on-site transportation, catering, tours, etc.
The place to be for contemporary creation in Senegal.
The Arts Village near Léopold Sédar Senghor airport
The story of the Arts Village in Dakar began in the late 1970s with a squat in an abandoned military camp. Over the years, it became an alternative venue for artistic and cultural creation, welcoming dozens of artists, painters and photographers. Its reputation continues to grow.
Razed in 1983, it rose from the ashes in 1988 in Yoff, on the road to Léopold Sédar Senghor airport, between the eponymous stadium and the CICES bridge. It is now managed by the Ministry of Culture and Classified Historical Heritage and the Committee of Resident Artists.
Spread over 4 hectares, the Arts Village is a space for the creation, production, transmission and promotion of all visual arts disciplines in Dakar. Painters, sculptors, ceramists, photographers, installation artists, video artists, visual artists... all work in one of the 52 studios available to artists in residence or visiting artists who devote their time to creation.
The studio doors are open, as an invitation to meet the curious public. In this space of artistic abundance, you listen enthusiastically, watch the artists at work, meet passionate men and women who explain their art to you and with whom you have time to talk. Interaction is constant and contributes to the richness of the Dakar Arts Village. Here, art is brought to life.
Arts Village, exhibition and residency in Dakar
At the same time, the 300 m2 Léopold Sédar Senghor gallery hosts temporary exhibitions all year round. Every month, the works on display are renewed with artists from the Arts Village or elsewhere. So your visits to the Village are always a source of surprise and discovery.
The Arts Village is a complete space with a bronze foundry and a library. For a break between studio visits, a pleasant cafeteria is open to the public.
Attended by discerning aesthetes, researchers and gallery directors, the Village is home to big names in the making, young graduate artists and self-taught artists whose talents are just waiting to be revealed. Today, it's Senegal's artistic showcase with cultural evenings, themed conferences, debate evenings and traditional wakes.
Stay at the Terrou-Bi luxury hotel in Dakar and experience the colourful Arts Village.