Abstract

This article questions the applicability of received theories of the avant-garde to artistic practices in postcolonial Africa. In particular, it looks at the politics of exhibition and reception of two vanguard groupings operating in Senegal, one in the 1970s, another in the present day, that have been presented within major forums celebrating global art in the neoliberal era. As complex mixes of indigenous and global forms and ideas, these practices address multilayered histories of interaction and imbrication of cultures and challenge pat assumptions of the traditional avant-garde’s parameters.

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