Essé Dabla-Attikpo
Essé Dabla-Attikpo’s residency continues a cycle of research and exchange initiated by Nigra Iuventa between Montreal and Accra. The curator is pursuing a research project close to her heart: the creation of new images and iconographies of African and Afro-diasporic populations, this time exploring the concept of otherness through the experiences of Black Montreal artists in residence in Accra. The focus is clear: how Ghana—the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and a land of fantasy for Pan-Africanists—shapes the diasporic gaze, and how the return of that gaze to Montreal reshapes the idea of belonging.
Her starting point lies in the works and experiences of two Black Canadian artists in the program. The curator posits that in Accra, in a predominantly Black country, these artists experienced their own otherness: perceived as foreigners, as members of the diaspora, as Canadians before being Africans. In Montreal, the roles are reversed. What interests Dabla-Attikpo is the gap between these two positions, as well as a second axis that runs through them: the French language—French in Quebec, French in Accra, and French in West Africa.
Her curatorial approach takes shape on site. She meets with artists in their own contexts, discovers Nigra Iuventa and her work on the unceded Kanien’kehá territory, and explores Black Francophone Montreal and its Afro-diasporic spaces. This immersion, informed by the ideas of Dionne Brand, Paul Gilroy, Felwine Sarr, Achille Mbembe, and Frantz Fanon, serves to refine, clarify, affirm, or shift her artistic vision.
An Open Access residency in partnership with Nigra Iuventa.
ABOUT NIGRA IUVENTA
Nigra Iuventa is a Montreal-based cultural organization dedicated to the development and recognition of artists of African descent and African artists in the field of contemporary art, through a curatorial program centered on exhibitions, international residencies, and public programs rooted in the contemporary practices of the African diasporas and the Black Atlantic.
Biography
Essé “Essenam” Dabla-Attikpo is an exhibition curator and art consultant. In 2018, she founded This No Be Art, an art consulting agency based in Accra. Since moving to Ghana in 2013, her practice has developed across West Africa and the diaspora: she curates exhibitions, directs cultural projects, and builds bridges between Francophone and Anglophone artistic ecosystems. Her work encompasses contemporary African art, hip-hop culture, and issues related to the representation of African and Afro-diasporic cultures, with projects carried out in Ghana, Nigeria, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. Among her notable engagements are the operational management of the Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, her roles as Managing Trustee and curator of the Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art, and her position as Program Manager at Africa No Filter. Through This No Be Art, she organizes custom art-focused trips. She also advises and supports artists, collectors, and institutions in the region.
Recent exhibitions
| 2025 | The Revenants, solo exhibition, artist: Dimitri Fagbohoun, The Mix Gallery, Accra, GH |
| 2024 | No Departures Without Arrivals, group exhibition, artistes: Selorm Jay, Kojo Cue (musique), ZK/U, Berlin, DE |
| 2023 | Black Gaze, Black Bodies, group exhibition, artists: Selorm Jay, Ofoe Amegavie, Hanson Akatti, Mutombo Da Poet, Blacksad, Kojo-Cue (texte), Moshood (texte), ADAMA, Atlanta, GA, USA The Softer Side of Us, solo exhibition, artist: Richard Mensah, Afikaris Gallery, Paris, FR |
| 2022 | For Boiz Like Me Who've Considered Suicide, solo exhibition, artist: Boluwatife Oyediran, Gallery 1957, Accra, GH |
| 2021 | In Dialogue, group exhibition, artists: Andrews Torsu, Ian Kwakye, Lesley Semackor, Negyem Adonoo, Simon Bowman, Theresah Ankomah, Ulla Daventer, Tjasa Rener, Anne-Laure Gueret, Natalija Gormalova, Clarissa Rötzel, Isabel Abreu, Alliance Française Accra, Accra, GH |
| 2019 | Diaspora, From Local to Foreign, group exhibition, artists: Yaw Owusu, Sela Adjei, Isshaq Ismael, Isaac Opoku, Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art, Accra, GH Breaking, group exhibition, artists: Siaka Traoré, Noella L., Selorm Jay, Yoyo Tinz Festival, Terra Alta, Accra, GH The Feast, solo exhibition, artist: Selorm Jay, Awoshie, Accra, GH |
| 2018 | YOYO TINZ: Things of Hip Hop, group exhibition, artists: Bright Ackwerh, Ofoe Amegavie, Selorm Jay, Hanson Akatti, BBnZ Live, Accra, GH |
| 2017 | We Are the North, solo exhibition, artist: William Chechet, Alliance Française Lagos, Lagos, NG |