About Pavillon 54

Black beauty, pride and excellence: A Tale of Reappropriation is all about representations of black culture and community. The product of a true collaboration between the Black in Business club at London Business School and Pavillon 54 from conception to the desinstallation. It’s no secret that during the course of history, Africans have been dehumanised and that the project of re-humanising the life and world of African societies remains an urgent task. The exhibition took a strong focus on finding more complex ways to critically engage with Black identities.

Through yet another unusual year after COVID-19 has been introduced into our lives in 2021, the art market as a whole has experienced incredible innovation and a steady comeback after the events of 2020. But how does the impact of artists from Africa and the diaspora fit into this narrative? Pavillon54 provides a breakdown of this year’s major events, and what we can look forward to for the second half of 2022.

Pavillon 54 had the chance to have a chat with Saint-Etienne Yeanzi. born in 1988, he graduated in painting and photography at the “ Lycée d'Enseignement Artistique “of Cocody and the National School of Arts in Abidjan, in 2012.

Yéanzi, a street art enthusiast, worked as a commissioned portrait painter for ten years. Since 2013, he has been pursuing personal work using melt plastic material. As many other African artists, he doesn’t create such pieces with the intention of becoming ‘Environmental’ artists, but rather, he uses the materials around him as a part of his existing culture and makes a more poignant statement about the effects of capitalism, as well as Western colonialism and consumerism on the African continent. Watch the video of the interview.

One of the biggest misconceptions about collecting art is that you must be very wealthy to do so. However, this is simply not the case, as there are plenty of emerging artists and art markets to invest in at affordable prices. Art from Africa and its diaspora is one such example, as its market is still developing rapidly. Collectors can obtain artworks of great quality and investment value at lower prices, and therefore not only contribute to the growth of an incredible movement of artists, but also add an artwork to their collections that is expected to grow in value.

But diving into the art world and the art market can be a mammoth task. What are the best ways to begin your forays into the art world without breaking the bank, and where can you start? We list some of our top tips for starting an art collection on a budget.

Art historians and artists of African descent have long highlighted the platitudes of the term ‘African art’. Typically, in the canon of art history, African art has been reduced to masks, votive figures, weapons or tapestries. However, curators, African art historians, and creators have been fighting against this one-dimensional view of African cultural output, in the aims of presenting a diverse and rich African arts scene, as variegated and unique as there are as many countries on the continent.

Here at Pavillon54, one of our main missions is also to educate and promote the incredible assortment of artistic styles and techniques that can be found in modern and contemporary African art. We’ve highlighted seven popular art styles that are worldwide and universal, already well-integrated in the art historical canon, but here we are presenting it with a unique African twist. How have modern and contemporary African artists contributed to these popular artistic movements, and who are the key players? Read on to discover more!

A word from Dana Endundo Ferreira, Founder of Pavillon 54, about building the global technology platform for African creativity