Is an intercultural artistic dialogue possible between Europe and Africa?

Abstract

Relations between Africa and Europe have been, more often than not, relations of inequality. The historical dominance of the latter over the former, mainly originating in the colonial period, has been continuously perpetuated through economic, political and ideological measures with the objective of reproducing and enhancing the idea of constant development that drives the western mentality. This development has not been restrained by any moral or ethical questioning, despite Europe being the self-proclaimed standard-bearer of democratic values and universal rights. Similar historical approaches have been transcribed to the artistic realm. Europe's position of power and dominance has resulted in a system of rejection and simultaneous absorption, both formally and conceptually, of any form of African art.