Paper short abstract:

My paper contributes towards understanding the recent developments of contemporary art production in Benin through an examination of different models of a transnationally oriented art patronage; in this context, I will focus on how the artists position themselves towards such new institutions.

Paper long abstract:

In the early 1990ies, the Beninese government was one of the main patrons of contemporary artists who involved them in a state-organized Vodun-Festival. Since then, religious themes played an important role in the arts of Benin. One decade later, the country has witnessed the emergence of transnational art institutions due to processes of a globalizing art world, but also because the Beninese government ceased to provide continuous culture patronage. In addition to the Institut Français, that coined Benin's cultural policy since the 1960s, institutions like the Fondation Zinsou or Le Centre appeared on the scene: they show a transnational orientation with regard to cooperation and fundraising, which eventually affects their exhibition policies and the distribution of art, but also the art production itself. Since then, references on religious themes in the arts became more subtle, artistic involvements with other subjects (like politics, urbanism, migration, or environment) and media (installation, performance, video art) more visible.

In my paper, I will argue that the processes of transnationalization have brought new forms of art patronage that allowed the artists to gain more independence from the government's expectations. These developments generated a diversification of artistic themes and media, yet new demands within the neoliberal field of the arts. My presentation seeks to contribute towards understanding contemporary art production in the Beninese context through an examination of the dynamics of a transnationally oriented art patronage; in this context, I will focus on how the artists position themselves towards these new institutions.