Maguette Mbow's invitation to the Africa is Chic World Fest event sounds like a manifesto, an edifice to be built, a composite material of resistance and conviction.

In the beginning was Africa, "the cradle of humanity". It entered History by opening the biggest page, that of Man... the "Out of Artfrica"! It is good to recall once again as a preamble, that this black land can be found in Dakar, Paris, London, New York... But it is in its roots, on this continent, that the struggles and resistances of today and tomorrow must rise up or rather rise up. 

We can no longer afford to ignore the dynamisms, the different forces (political, economic, social, intellectual, artistic...) that are emerging in the African and Afro-diasporic worlds. This strong desire to constantly reinvent Africa, to regenerate its values, to recompose its links in a positive dynamic is also reflected at the artistic level. 

The scene is lively, abundant and full of energy, with both established and emerging artists in Africa and beyond the borders of the continents, who all share a desire to move forward. The philosopher and historian Achille Mbembe, in Critique de la raison nègre, says: "There can be no discourse on contemporary forms of African identity that does not take into account the heretical genius at the basis of the encounter between Africa and the world. From this heretical genius derives the capacity of Africans to inhabit several worlds and to situate themselves on both sides of the image simultaneously.

The artists presented in this exhibition are a force of life, committed to the act of creation. They ask us about the major issues at stake, and share with us their fears, their fears but also their hopes. They ask us questions about the major issues at stake, sharing with us their fears, their fears but also their hopes. The questions are equal to the challenges: is rurality condemned to oppose urbanity, and consequently are age-old traditions bound to disappear like the many species on the verge of extinction; recognising the unspeakable colonial past to give back freedom to the African identity and finally, this fear of the migrant, whether on the African, European or American continent, does not condemn all of humanity to its downfall, if the victim is made guilty, even though the evils : wars, conflicts and environmental changes are intensifying.

Of all these questions, one thing remains certain: without the recognition of cultural and artistic production, any sincere political and economic development of African countries is doomed to failure.