Bocar Niang

Bocar Niang was born a griot from a family of griots on 8 June 1987 in Tambacounda, Senegal. He holds a Master’s degree in arts and culture from the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and from the École nationale supérieure d’arts de Paris-Cergy. He is currently developing a thesis on research and artistic creation within the RADIAN doctoral programme.

Founder of the Musée griot in Senegal and its branches in France, he is also artistic director of the Tamba Jeunes Talents Festival in Senegal since 2008 and of the Nekkalante Festival in France since 2018.
His multidisciplinary work combines orality, installation, writing, sculpture, film, video and music. It has been presented, among others, at the Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, Fondation Ricard, Biennale de Dakar, Biennale de Cenon, Ygrec-Ensapc, Laboratoires d’Aubervillers and the Musée Théodore Monod in Dakar.

The project carried out at the Villa Medici is articulated in two parts: on the one hand, the production of narratives and oral/sound performances aiming to develop the narratives of objects and works and to strengthen the links between individuals, mobilities, and their contexts and territories. These narratives take place through multilingual readings, podcasts, declamations of writings and the creation of sound works on the collections, landscapes or legends of the Villa Medici and the city of Rome. On the other hand, the creation of a series of sculptures entitled Babyfoot, composed of 44 drawings and models of individuals, whose characters come from different countries of the world.

© Daniele Molajoli