Galerie Kemboury Gallery in Dakar

Editorial Profile

Founded in November 1996 by Thérèse Turpin Diatta, Galerie Kemboury has operated for nearly three decades as one of the historic private exhibition spaces shaping contemporary art in Dakar. Its program has consistently balanced two registers: the introduction of emerging Senegalese and West African artists alongside the continued visibility of established figures, including posthumous tributes to painters such as Ibrahima Kébé and Diatta Seck, the latter a defining presence of the École de Dakar that emerged in the wake of independence. Practices shown lean toward painting and sculpture, though the program has also welcomed mixed media, drawing, and peinture sous-verre, reflecting a fluid relationship with both vernacular and academic Senegalese traditions and with the curatorial framing of critics such as Massamba Mbaye.

Beyond its long-standing exhibition activity, the space has cultivated regional dialogue by presenting artists from Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Bénin, Nigeria, Congo, and Cape Verde, often in collaborative group configurations. A recurrent participant in the Off programme of the Dakar Biennale and in the Partcours circuit, it contributes to the broader ecosystem of galleries in Dakar while extending its reach through off-site initiatives — including exhibitions at the Pyramide du Groupe Atépa in Mermoz and at the Gare de Dakar — that complement the work of institutions in Dakar anchoring the city's contemporary art infrastructure. Recent activity points to a transitional phase, with a planned relocation toward the Petite Côte while maintaining hors-les-murs programming in the capital, signaling a continued commitment to circulating West African artistic practices across private and public sites.