Co-founders Brice Yonkeu and Noelle Mukete-Elhalaby chose the bustling city of Douala for their new space.
On September 2, on a lively street in Bonapriso, an upscale neighborhood of Douala, Cameroon, an eager crowd gathered outside Bwo Art Gallery. The stylish throng had come to see the gallery’s inaugural show—by Cameroonian artist Sesse Elangwe—and Central Africa’s newest platform for contemporary art.
The enthusiasm was just as palpable inside, where artists and collectors perused Elangwe’s richly detailed portraits of Cameroonians in outdoor spaces. There is an underlying sense of determination in the works. The show’s title, “The Defiant Ones,” refers to overcoming challenges the country faces, among them an armed conflict in the Anglophone regions that has raged since 2016.
“If people can begin to do things in ways different from the structures that have been put in place in Cameroon and all over the African continent,” Elangwe said at the opening, “maybe change will come.” His paintings of people with one eye bigger than the other are intended as a metaphorical representation of strength and awareness. “We must always keep an eye open to visualize what we want to achieve,” he said.
