Biennales in Africa

Africa’s biennale landscape is anchored by two long-running series in West Africa. Dak’Art, established by Senegalese decree in 1989 and held as a visual arts biennale since 1992, is the founding Pan-African contemporary art biennale. The Bamako Encounters, founded in 1994 and co-produced by Mali’s Ministry of Culture and the Institut Français, is the continent’s longest-running platform for African and diaspora photography. In North Africa, the Casablanca Biennale (founded 2012) frames its program around South-South exchange, and the Cairo International Biennale dates to 1984.

The field also carries a record of interruption. The Johannesburg Biennale held only two editions, in 1995 and 1997, the second under Okwui Enwezor, before the city closed it. The Marrakech Biennale has not returned since 2016, the Kampala Art Biennale since its virtual 2020 edition, and Cairo has announced no edition since 2019. An 11th East Africa Art Biennale was promoted for Nairobi this fall, but the National Museums of Kenya has disclaimed involvement, and no independent report confirms that it opened.

No edition in Africa is open as of October 1, 2026, but three open within a month of one another. The 16th Dak’Art, (Anti)fragility, with artistic director Morad Montazami, runs November 19 to December 19, 2026. The 15th Bamako Encounters, Refabulation(s), curated by Armelle Dakouo, runs November 26, 2026 to January 26, 2027. The 6th Casablanca International Biennale, Fabriquer l’Impossible, runs December 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027 and moves to Essaouira for this edition. Dakar and Bamako can be combined in one trip in late November. See the 2026 calendar for dates.