Public Art in Africa. Art and Urban Transformations in Douala

Public Art in Africa examines the role and the impact of art on urban transformation through the introduction of a wide range of contemporary artworks created since 1991 in the Cameroonian city of Douala. These artworks were produced as part of the activities of doual’art, which holds the Salon Urbain Douala (SUD) every three years and is at the very core of the experience of public art in the city. A catalogue raisonné introduces the reader to a variety of works including monumental and architectural artworks, urban design installations, sculptures, graffiti, murals, happenings, performances and other artistic projects closely tied to the local communities and the urban fabric of Douala. This volume also gives privileged access to the committed point of view of Cameroonian and international artists, as well as museum directors, curators and art critics who are heavily involved in the city’s artistic scene. Public Art in Africa thus invites the reader on a journey within a global socio-political discourse on the role of art in contemporary society. An enriched digital version of the volume contains an additional series of peer-reviewed academic essays, which aim to lay the theoretical foundations of public art in Africa. A historiographical and iconographic glossary adds to the understanding of contemporary artistic practices in the continent. A book edited by Iolanda Pensa with Marta Pucciarelli, Fiona Siegenthaler, Marilyn Douala Bell, Kamiel Verschuren, Xandra Nibbeling, Maud de la Chapelle within a collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), the University of Basel, doual’art, ICU art projects and Lucas Grandin, Africulture, and the European Conference on African Studies (ECAS).