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Founded by renowned artist Kehinde Wiley in 2019, Black Rock Senegal seeks to support new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and to incite change in the global discourse about Africa.

The third year of the program will run between July 2022 and March 2023 and will welcome sixteen artists from around the world.

The selected artists for Black Rock 2022-2023 are: ‘Pemi Aguda (Nigeria, Writer), Gouled Ahmed (Ethiopia, Textile), Sophia Nahli Allison (USA, Film), Adrian L. Burrell (USA, Film), Panmela Castro (Brazil, Painter), Chinwe Chigbu (Nigeria, Photographer), Ayan Farah (Sweden, Mixed Media), Enam Gbewonyo (United Kingdom, Textile), Stephen Leo Hayes Jr. (USA, Sculptor), Amina Kadous (Egypt, Photographer), Mae-ling Lokko (Ghana, Mixed Media), Nasheeka Nedsreal (Germany, Performance Based), Nengi Omuku (Nigeria, Painter), Léonard Pongo (Belgium, Visual Artist), Khalif Tahir Thompson (USA, Painter), and Paul Verdell (USA, Painter).

This year’s residents have been selected by an esteemed committee of creative professionals: Jeffrey Deitch, Curator and Gallerist;  Aissa Dione, Textile Designer; Reni Folawiyo, Entrepreneur; Cathia Lawson, Art Collector; Glenn Ligon, Artist; and Katherina Olschbaur, Artist and former Black Rock Senegal Resident.

Named for the volcanic rocks that blanket its shoreline, Black Rock is a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program founded by renowned artist Kehinde Wiley in 2019. The residency brings together international artists to live and work in Dakar, Senegal for 1–3 month stays. The Black Rock compound design was conceived by Senegalese architect Abib Djenne with interior collaboration between Wiley, Fatiya Djenne, and Aissa Dione. The complex includes a residence and studio space for Wiley along with three single-occupancy residency apartments with adjacent studio spaces. Our mission is to support new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and to incite change in the global discourse about Africa. 

Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is a world-renowned visual artist, best known for his vibrant portrayals of contemporary African-American and African Diaspora individuals that subvert the hierarchies and conventions of European and American portraiture. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and video, Wiley’s portraits challenge and reorient art-historical narratives, awakening complex sociopolitical issues that many would prefer remain muted. In 2018 Wiley became the first African-American artist to paint an official U.S. Presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Former U.S. President Barack Obama selected Wiley for this honour. In 2019, the artist debuted his first large-scale public sculpture in Times Square, New York, a bronze equestrian monument honouring the heroism of young black men in America. In 2020 Wiley received France’s distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Wiley has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally and his works are included in the collections of over 40 public institutions around the world. Wiley is the Founder and President of Black Rock Senegal. He lives and works in Beijing, Dakar, and New York. 

For more information about the program and this year’s selected artists, please visit our Black Rock Senegal.

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