PARIS.- AKAA – Also Known As Africa – is the first and foremost contemporary art fair in France focused on Africa and its diaspora. Since 2016, the fair has established itself as a key platform for contemporary art, driven by a constant commitment to showcasing the richness, diversity, and vibrancy of African and Afro-descendant artistic expression. KAA offers a space to discover artists who claim a link in their practice with the African continent, whether through their approach or identity, providing a contemporary look at these artistic scenes that goes beyond geographical borders, open to dialogue, discovery and wonder without clichés or preconceptions.

Atsoupé (Togo)
Galerie Anne de Villepoix | Paris

Born in Lomé (Togo) in 1986, Atsoupé is a visual artist whose childhood was shaped by many travels across Africa alongside her father, who was on mission for the UNHCR. She lived in Burundi, Guinea, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo during times of crisis. These experiences deeply influence her work, which blends childhood memories, individual memory, and collective history.

Stéphané Edith (Namibia)
Galerie Ceysson & Bénétière | Paris

Born in 1990 in Windhoek, Namibia, Stéphané Edith lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. Through everyday objects, she explores the legacies of colonialism and creolization, questioning how identity is shaped within the domestic space marked by the histories of slavery, segregation, and apartheid.

Gwladys Gambie (Martinique, France)
Maison Gaston | Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe

Born in 1988 in Fort-de-France, Gwladys Gambie lives and works in Martinique. Through drawing, sculpture, embroidery, and writing, she explores representations of the Black female body. Inspired by Caribbean nature, marine flora, and Creole culture, she creates a poetic and decolonial universe where mythology, sensuality, and identity intertwine.

Anneagma (France)
Galerie Hors-Cadre | Romainville, France

Anneagma is a French-Ivorian sculptor and ceramicist born in Paris. Drawing from her dual cultural heritage, she works with stoneware, porcelain, and earthenware to express a deep and intimate connection to the earth. This tactile relationship leads her to reconnect with a “forgotten instinct” and to explore genetic memory. Between sub-Saharan Africa and the West, her introspective process gives rise to unique works that seem to emerge from another time, blending ancestral craftsmanship with a contemporary perspective.

Teresa Roza d’Oliveira
(Mozambique)
Perve Galeria | Lisbon, Portugal

Teresa Roza d’Oliveira (1945–2019) was a Mozambican artist of Lusophone descent, known for her original paintings combining vibrant colors and surprising shapes, often populated by strange characters and anthropomorphic animals. Committed to the struggle for Mozambique’s independence, she established herself as one of the key figures in the national art scene.

Olivié Keck (South Africa)
Quand les fleurs nous sauvent | Paris

Born in 1989 in Cape Town, where she lives and works, Olivié Keck is a South African artist who explores what she calls "the theatre of human life." Her work, characterized by vibrant colors, bold contrasts, and a distinctive graphic style, reflects on the ambiguities of human experience. She balances pop motifs, humor, and darker undertones, addressing both intimate and social themes in images that blend sincerity, irony, and aesthetic pleasure.

Barbara Wildenboer
(South Africa)
Fondation Montresso*, Marrakech, Morocco

Born in 1973 in Pretoria and based in Cape Town, Barbara Wildenboer is a South African artist. Her work combines collage, photography, digital sculpture, and artist’s books, blending analog and digital techniques. Her background in visual arts, English literature, and psychology informs a poetic reflection on the interconnection between science, nature, and humanity.

Bouchra El Menjra
(Morocco)
Myriem Himmich Gallery | Casablanca, Morocco

Bouchra El Menjra, a self-taught artist born in Casablanca in 1987, specializes in wood bas-relief. Driven by an ecological approach, she reuses every fragment of wood, mainly oak or fiberboard panels, often combined with cellulose paint. Her work highlights the living connection between shapes, colors, bodies, and emotions.

Anouchka Desseilles (France)
Galerie Frédéric Roulette | Paris

Anouchka Desseilles, a French visual artist graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2002, lives and works in Paris. Inspired by her numerous stays in Senegal since 2005, she develops a committed pictorial work at the crossroads of poetry and political reflection. Exploring memory, power dynamics, and cultural exchanges, she exhibits regularly in France and Africa.

Ghizlane Shali (Morocco)
Galerie Christophe Person | Paris / Brussels, Belgium

Born in 1973 in Meknès, Ghizlane Sahli is a Moroccan visual artist based in Marrakech. After studying architecture in Paris, she devoted herself to artistic creation by combining artisanal skills with recycled materials. With the help of local craftswomen, she creates three-dimensional sculptures and installations using silk threads and plastic waste, exploring the transformation of materials while celebrating the body and nature through a poetic and contemporary language.