STUTTGART.- Following on from her premier in Germany at ifa Gallery Berlin, curator Ken Aïcha Sy now presents her long-term research project "Survival Kit" at ifa Gallery Stuttgart. Ken Aïcha Sy, one of the most important voices on Senegalese art history between 1960 and 1990. continues her critical exploration of the subject here. From 1 November 2025 to 21 March 2026, the exhibition in Stuttgart, entitled "Monochrome of Négritude or an Introduction to the Modernists", will be presenting pioneers of Senegalese modernism. The exhibition presents works by eight artists who have had a significant influence on Senegalese art history. One of the starting points for Sy’s both critical and very personal research on art in Senegal between 1960 bis 1990 is her own family archive. The exhibition is under the patronage of UNESCO.

Ken Aïcha Sy, researcher and curator from Senegal, is the daughter of the journalist and cultural activist Anne Jean Bart and the artist El Hadji Sy. Five years ago she initiated her Survival Kit project, inspired by her own family archive. She began to explore the cultural heritage of Senegal and embarked on a search for clues that took her to depots as far away as Venice and London, where she researched Senegalese painting between 1960 and 1990 and unearthed many forgotten works.

Survival Kit was presented for the first time in Germany at the ifa Gallery in Berlin in the summer of 2025. While the first show in Berlin highlighted hidden archives and forgotten artists who addressed the ideals that came with Senegalese independence, the second part in Stuttgart now looks at the pioneers of modernism in Senegal. The focus shifts to the period before and immediately after independence.

Entitled Monochrome of Négritude or an Introduction to the Modernists, this exhibition presents the radical and often monochrome pictorial idioms that developed in Senegal from the 1960s to the 1980s. It includes paintings and drawings on paper by Amadou Ba, Chérif Thiam, Amadou Seck, Abdoulaye Ndiaye Thiossane, Mohamadou Mbaye Zulu, Baba Dia, El Hadji Sy, and a large-format textile work based on a design by Papa Ibra Tall. The show is complemented by an overview of archive research and documentary material. These rarely shown works include loans from the Iwalewahouse at the University of Bayreuth and from the Museum of World Cultures in Frankfurt am Main.

Survival Kit sees itself as both an exhibition and a curatorial tool that strengthens collaboration and transdisciplinary exchange, activates marginalised narratives, and positions Senegalese modernism as an important moment in global art history.

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive programme of events with artists, historians, and curators who have explored questions of restitution, modernity, and archival practices over recent years. Conversations, film screenings, and workshops open up a space for shared reflection and cultural exchange.

Ken Aïcha Sy is a curator and researcher, and the founder of the platform Wakh'Art. In her work she investigates memory, visual heritage, and cultural transfer from a decolonial perspective. Survival Kit is part of an ongoing curatorial research project on artistic practices after independence and their legacy across the generations.

Curated by Ken Aïcha Sy, assistant curator Nikola Hartl.