Global Art and the Museum

Dear Readers, as November’s MoCA of the Month we are very pleased to present the first private Beninese foundation devoted to African contemporary art. The Zinsou Foundation represents a family-run initiative founded in June 2005 by the Zinsou family in Cotonou. The challenging idea to establish an important and meaningful reality in Benin [1] belonged to Marie-Cécile Zinsou (now 27). Lionel and Émile-Derlin Zinsou [2] , father and grand-father of the young woman respectively, decided to assume the risks and to give birth to the project.

Mission

Making African contemporary art valuable, promoting education, development and poverty reduction are the very cores of the project. In order to reach a wide and differentiated audience, the Zinsou Foundation has been following clear and basic principles from its outset. Among these principals are: free attendance, non-political nature, multi-lingual communication, and involvement of several local institutions for development. Counting on an 800.000 euro annual income (mostly from the family itself), the foundation has widely enlarged its horizons during the first five years of activity: starting as a platform for African artists, it has been restless ranging from art to social commitment, always following international standards and therefore acting beyond borders.

The purpose of the Zinsou Foundation is to awaken the collectivity by weaving a worldwide net between contemporary artists and cultural players. Over time and thanks to several benefactors and partnerships, the Zinsou Foundation has been able to conceive, execute, analyse and increase the number of different field programs. The method adopted seeks to realize “sample actions“ which could be then repeated and improved through the support of enterprises or individuals. Since 2009 the founders have strenghtend the Foundation’s potential to take action through creation of an association, which includes French and European aid. The aim of the “Friends of the Zinsou Foundation Association” rests on the Foundation’s basic principals and mostly deals with fundraising and international relations.

Organizational Structure

The Zinsou Foundation was not intended to replace or replicate already existing organizations. It was indeed conceived to operate independently from public or NGO funding programs:

• Being a family-run and private initiative, it requires neither funding nor public aid but may instead offer its support to the state or to other associations for targeted actions.
• It is an internationally-oriented project, where African and European institutions or individuals can meet together both on planning and executive levels.

In order to mobilize necessary resources and stakeholders for the implementation of its programs, the Foundation has established an operational base on site (buildings, structure and team) and a strong local communication network (press, TV, radio). Further more, active cooperation with teachers, local administration, communities, and NGOs has accelerated and improved the relationships with the population.

Network

The opening of a museum for contemporary African art in Cotonou has attracted almost three milion visitors. This attendance was 5 times higher than expectated and 10 times superior to the figures reached by the most frequented National Museum. Certainly the solid national and international network established since the very beginning played an important role to realize and promote the Foundation’s activities:

• Programs and side projects developed together with teachers from primary and secondary school
• Sponsorships by several local enterprises who acted for the first time as benefactors in Africa
• Partnerships with museums and institutions, such as the Region of Vendée, the Enrico Navarra Gallery and the Musée du Quai Branly in France, the Botanic Museum in Belgium and since 2008 the Royal Palace of Abomey in Benin, (UNESCO World Heritage).

Exhibitions

In the last five years the Zinsou Foundation has organized twenty-four contemporary art exhibitions and published eleven catalogues. The exhibition program is focused on African contemporary art, reserving a special consideration to the Beninese art scene. The opening exhibition in June 2005 was dedicated to the first national retrospective of Beninese artist Romuald Hazoumé.

Hazoumé, born 1962, made his first steps in West Africa and continued his career abroad, first in Europe and then in the United-States. In 2007 the Foundation presented Basquiat in Cotonou, the first exhibition on Jean-Michel Basquiat held in Africa after his death. Thanks to the French gallerist Enrico Navarra, who decided to loan part of his collection to the Foundation, Cotonou’s public had the chance to explore the work of one of the most important personalities of the 20th century art. One of the important exhibitions to be mentioned is the solo show of the well-known artist Malick Sidibé to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his career. Sidibé, the first African artist to be awarded with the Golden Lyon at the Venice Biennial in 2007, has been honoured with 8 itinerary exhibitions throughout the city, fastening a widespread connection with the local population.

In 2009 the Zinsou Foundation offered its public an overview of African contemporary art assembled from five Beninese collections. The exhibition Collectionneurs du Bénin. Héritages Africains questioned the loss of most African contemporary art, widely circulating through foreign hands, and constituted an attempt to witness local efforts in preserving national art. Education is the Foundation’s main vocation and therefore the entire exhibition program has been sided by various educational activities, particularly thought for young visitors. During exhibitions the education department organises public art events, workshops, guided tours, concerts, dance shows, screenings and recently curated an important exhibition on contemporary African painting, drawing and sculpture. Comprising 16 artists such as Romuald Hazoumé, Tchif, Chéri Samba, Bodo, Dieudonné Sanna Wambeti, Bruce Clarke, the exhibition Ré-Création (2009/10) was born on a pedagogic purpose.

It aimed to illustrate different artistic media and to educate the interpretation of art through unconventional means. Instead of providing a canonical historical frame, the educators invited the children to look at the artworks through artists’ biographies, daily stories, and through an introduction to the techniques and the materials implied.

Social and Education Projects

“Small Brushes”

A free workshop dedicated to children from 3 to 12 years has been taking place regularly since June 2005. Divided into two levels according to the age, participants in the “Small Brushes” classes are supported by a professional educator twice a week. Educator Eleanor M’Fabo introduces contemporary art to children through creative activities and cognitive games, which are related to the themes of current exhibitions. Purpose of this interactive didactic is to allow the children to understand artworks and artists’ creative process.

Upcoming adult program

Given the enthusiasm of the public for the “Small Brushes” workshop, the Foundation designed a project to widen a cultural center with free access for adults. The center will include a library, a screening and a reading room. It will be led by the foundation’s directors and regularly host artist’s talks, master classes, lectures and contests also with the help of external actors (NGOs, filmmakers, writers…).

The Culture Bus

In order to favour kids mobility and to supply them with free access to contemporary art, the Zinsou Foundation, supported by its partners, bought a bus for the public transport of its young visitors October 2009.

For the time being, 63 schools and 13.695 pupils have joined the project, covering an overall distance of 2032 km.

The Jean Pliya Mini-Library

With the financial aid of Sotheby’s Auction House, the Zinsou family contributed to the growth of Cotonou’s cultural scene bringing back to life an old public library. The Jean Pliya Mini-Library is located in the Gbegamey Primary School complex and has officially opened up its doors in December 2009. Given the exploitation permit from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, a joint effort by the Zinsou Foundation, Sotheby’s and several Beninese enterprises, made renovation works possible. The Library allows those children, who wouldn’t otherwise have access to cultural resources, to discover a proper place for knowledge and browse through more than 2500 titles, among new and old releases. Almost one year after its opening, the Jean Pliya Mini-Library is now attended by an average of 488 readers a day.

NGO Care

The NGO Care International represents a successful experience in the public health realm. Internationally recognised for the efficiency, through which its projects have been realized, this organisation faces emergencies, but also tries to set long-term strategies. By evaluating the population’s needs with the help of local administrators, it provides financial support to improve living standards.

The humanitarian project carried on by Care has found a fertile soil in the Zinsou Foundation’s concerns about social development. Through an agreement between the two organisations, the Zinsou Foundation has funded CARE’s activities into two directions:

• The establishment in 2007 of Micro-Credit in Benin: one of the highest achievements by Care, possible through convenient reimbursement rates and to the highest turnover volume in the world,
• The running of a survey on health care conditions in Benin.

Notes

¹ “Fondation Zinsou : Un Lustre de Création” by Philippe Perdrix, available at http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAJA2579p022.xml0/benin-sculpture-mecenat-museefondation-zinsou-un-lustre-de-creation.html

fn2. Lionel Zinsou is a prosperous economist and banker based in Paris while his father Émile-Derlin Zinsou has been President of Benin.

Information compiled from the Zinsou Foundation official website, press-releases and from the web-article “Fondation Zinsou : Un Lustre de Création” by Philippe Perdrix, available at http://www.jeuneafrique.com.