This African City Has Been Named One Of Five Most Creative Cities In The World

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has put together a list of the most creative cities in the world having considered all the attributes of a cultural hub, and five cities around the world have been identified as home to thriving local creative scenes that are worthy of international attention.

Dakar, the Senegalese capital, has been mentioned as one of such cities and together with Belgrade, Bangkok, Mexico City, and Sharjah, they form the world’s top destinations for creatives.

Dakar’s mention as one of the world’s most creative cities is, for a host of reasons, well-deserved. For several years, the city has played host to several global cultural festivals like World Festival of Black Arts, Biennial of Contemporary African Art, St Louis Jazz Festival, Dakar International Neighborhood Film Festival, World Festival of Negro Arts, International Book Fair of Dakar, and Dakar Arts Festival. And according to the BBC, the city is set to become the first African location to host the Youth Olympic Games slated for 2022.

The BBC report has it that Dakar is a “hotbed for the nation’s new generation of artists, designers, and students.” And with famous personalities like painter Kassou Seydou, writer Mohammed Mbougar Sarr, fashion designers Selly Raby-Kane and Sarah Diouf of Tongoro, the brand responsible for some of Beyoncé’s amazing looks, making up some of the heavyweights in this category, it’s easy to see why the BBC thinks highly of the city.

Dakar also forms the grounds for The Museum of Black Civilisations which was opened in December 2018. The museum has quickly become one of the most talked-about and visited places in the country.

This 150,000-square-foot, circular structure holds breath-taking displays that cut across various centuries and continents, some of which include “Cradle of Humankind,” “African Civilizations: Continuous Creation of Humanity” and “The Caravan and Caravel.”

This is line with the curatorial mandate of the new museum which is to be a “political, cultural, artistic and economic response of the ‘Negritude’ against the technological and cultural devaluation of black civilisations”.

The Senegalese capital is famous for several other prestigious museums and art centres like the Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, House of Slaves, Léopold Sedar Senghor museum and Raw — a cultural centre for “art, knowledge, and society.”

Featured Image Courtesy: csmonitor.com