Senegal delays Dakar art biennale by six months

The 15th edition of the biennale was due to kick off on May 16, but the Youth, Sports, and Culture Ministry said the postponement was necessary due to the determination of newly elected authorities to wait for optimum conditions. The event will now run from Nov. 7 to Dec. 7, it said.

The Senegalese authorities have delayed the Dakar Biennale devoted to African contemporary art, pushing back the start of the capital's prestigious month-long event to November from May, organisers said on Thursday. The 15th edition of the biennale was due to kick off on May 16, but the Youth, Sports, and Culture Ministry said the postponement was necessary due to the determination of newly elected authorities to wait for optimum conditions.

The event will now run from Nov. 7 to Dec. 7, it said. In a statement shared on the biennale's official social media channels, the ministry also cited "the constraints and hazards of the national and international context," without giving further details.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected in March following a tumultuous electoral period that saw mass protests break out after his predecessor sought to delay the vote, threatening the country's reputation as one of West Africa's more stable democracies.

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