# Seyni Awa Camara

Seyni Awa Camara (born c. 1945) is a Senegalese sculptor, from the Jola ethnic group. She was born in Oussouye, and currently resides in Bignona.

## Biography

Seyni Awa Camara's father, a man named Sousou, was originally from Guinea and moved to Ziguinchor. Her mother, a woman named Sereer, was from Oussouye, Ziguinchor Region, Senegal, where Camara was born c. 1945.It is unknown how many siblings she has, although it is known that she is the only daughter of her family.
According to Camara, at the age of 12 she, alongside her brothers, wandered into the woods. After being lost for four months, she and her brothers returned within days of one another, each holding the same sculpture. Both Camara and her brothers claim during their time in the woods, God taught them how to make statues and sculptures such as the ones they brought home with them.
Today, she creates sculptures in clay in her front yard and inside her home. Her three sons help her fire them in an open-hearth kiln before displaying them around her house. The pieces, ranging in size from 12 inches tall to 8 feet tall, represent personal symbols. She has authorized the use of bronze castings of her work since the terracottas are too delicate to travel.

## Exhibitions

Camara's work is in The Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) of Jean Pigozzi in Switzerland. Gallery Baronian in Brussels has organized several exhibitions of Seyni Awa Camara, in 2020, 2021, and April 2024.

### Solo exhibitions

* 2021. Solo show Art Brussels with Baronian, Brussels (BE)
* 2020. "Maternités, Baronian Xippas." Brussels (BE)
* 2017. “Art/Afrique, Le nouvel atelier”: African art from 1989 onwards at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
* 2011. Seyni Awa Camara entre les éléments, Galeria Kalao, Bilbao (ES)
* 2011. Maternités, Baronian Xippas, Brussels (BE)
* 2010. El Vientre de la Tierra, Galeria Kalao, Bilbao (ES)
* 2009. Seni Camara & Ndoye Douts, Galerie Nathalie Fiks, Paris (FR)
* 2007/2008. Why Africa?Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, Italy
* 2006/2007. 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
* 2005. Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, France
* 2005. African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, Museum of Fine Art Houston, USA
* 2004. Séni Camara, De Crescenzo & Viesti, Rome, Italy
* 1990. Séni Camara, Gallery 39, Dakar, Senegal
* 1989. Magiciens de la terre, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

### Group exhibitions

* 2022. Michael Armitage Amongst the Living, with Seyni Awa Camara, White Cube Bermondsey (LDN)
* 2021. Seyni Awa Camara and Olaf Holzapfel, Baronian Xippas, Knokke (BE)
* 2021. Les restes du bruit, Seyni Awa Camara & Estevão Mucavele, MAGNIN-A, Paris (FR)
* 2020. Ex Africa, curated by Philippe Dagen, musée du quai Branly- Jacques Chirac, Paris (FR)
* 2020. Radically Naïve / Naively Radical, ExtraCity, Antwerp (BE)
* 2017. Alpha Crucis, curated by André Magnin, Musée Astrup Fearnley, Oslo (NO)
* 2016. Art/Afrique : le nouvel atelier _ Les Initiés : sélection d’oeuvres (1989- 2009) de la collection d’art contemporain africain Pigozzi, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (FR)
* 2016. Art Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais, Paris (FR)
* 2012. Galeristes, Carreau du temple, Paris (FR)
* 2011. Figure Libre, Galerie Nathalie Fiks, Paris (FR)
* 2009/2010. Chic Art Fair, Galerie Nathalie Fiks, Paris (FR)
* 2007/2008. Africa? Una nuova storia, Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome (IT)
* 2006/2007. Why Africa?, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin (IT)
* 2005. 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (ES)
* 2001. Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco (FR)
* 2001. African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, Museum of Fine Art Houston (US)
* 2000. Rocca di Umbertide, Contemporary Art Center (IT)
* 2000. Biennale de Venise, 49th édition, Venise (IT)
* 1992 - 1991. Il Ritorno Dei Maghi, Orvieto (IT)
* 1989. Africa Hoy, Contemporary Art Cultural Center (MX)
* 1989. Groninger Museum (NL) The Atlantic Center of Modern Art, Las Palmas de Gran Canary (ES) Senegal Otto-Ritcher-Halle, Galerie des Institutd Für Auslandsbeziehungen Landesmuseum, Oldenburger Kunstverein (DE)
* 1989. Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou, La Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris (FR) 1989