1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2026

Produced in collaboration with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the display celebrates the remarkable life and legacy of Camara, whose inclusion in Jean Hubert Martin’s astonishing Les Magiciens de la Terre (1999) identified her as one of the most singular artistic voices in West Africa. Camara inherited a centuries-old pottery tradition from the women of Basse-Casamance; and from the age of six, learned to work with clay alongside her mother - who made functional objects for local markets, including pots, utensils and small figurines. Camara moved beyond these utilitarian forms to develop an extraordinary personal language, shaped by lived experience, memory and an expansive dream world. The terracotta universe of hybrid beings, animals, matriarchs and ancestors are rooted in Diola traditions, yet contemporary in form. They can today be found in collections around the world, including Tate Modern (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris) and The National Museum of Art (Oslo). Recent exhibitions include The Woman Question (2025/26) at the Museum of Modern Art (Warsaw) curated by Alison M. Gingeras, and Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection (2025-26) at Wellcome Collection (London). Her sculptures are currently on view at two venues as part of the 61st Venice Biennale: in the first-ever Sierra Leone Pavilion, Worlds of Today, and the opening (statement) room of In Minor Keys, curated by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. For a preview of available works, please email the gallery at [email protected]. A talk on the legacy of Seyni Awa Camara will take place at the 1-54 Fair during the exhibition.