Famakan Magassa

Famakan Magassa received his BFA from the Conservatoire Arts et Metiers Multimedia Balla Fasséke Kouyaté in Bamako, Mali, in 2018. He exhibited for the first time in 2019, including presentations at L’Institut-Français du Mali and Fondation La Maison de l’Artiste in Assinie, Ivory Coast. In 2021, his works were featured in the exhibition “Hotel Sahara” at the BETC, Paris, France. In 2022, Magassa made his debut in the USA with his exhibition SOIFS at the Albertz Benda Gallery, New York. In 2023, Magassa was awarded the Grand Prize of the Norval Sovereign African ArtPrize. In 2024/2025 he is Artist in Exile of Kulturvermittlung Steiermark and the City of Graz.

Born and raised in Mali, Famakan Magassa has been connected to the outside world primarily through social networks, observing and reflecting on how open societies develop and the freedoms they give their citizens.

At the same time, the space for personal freedom in Mali became ever narrower and his own situation ever more precarious. A military junta has established itself in the capital Bamako and rules with a heavy hand. Various marauding radical Islamic jihadists claim power in eighty percent of the country. They classify people who do not submit to their dictates as enemies, including people of the Islamic faith. Their terror is directed against them. The international community has given up on Mali. Troops that were supposed to bring peace have failed and have been withdrawn. Terror and violence reign in Mali.

For Famakan Magassa, a free life in his home country is not possible. He has come under increasing personal threat. His art, the pictures he paints, depict themes, relationships and attitudes to life that are seen as immoral and political rebellion by authoritarian Muslim rulers. His works show violence and oppression in all their facets. They speak of the urge for freedom and personal development, the suppression of joie de vivre, the desire to behave and develop freely.

Famakan Magassa allows the grotesque and the ludicrous to shine through in his works, revealing not only the brutality but also the bitter ridiculousness of the circumstances. He makes us laugh at them, because: Humor gives strength and is a weapon against those in power who fight each other and subjugate the population. He could not question them any worse. That’s why he had to leave Mali as quickly as possible.

The “Writers in Exile” project, which has been curated, organized and carried out in Graz by Kulturvermittlung Steiermark in cooperation and consultation with the City of Graz’s Department of Culture since 1997, has already been opened up to the visual arts once before – in 2015 due to the war in Syria – and invited artists from the war-torn country.

Magassa wants a safe and artistically inspiring environment. He wants to work productively. He can now do that in Graz, thanks to the opportunities offered to him here. The artist can develop his creativity. He can continue to develop, also in exchange with the local artists.

The enigmatic, undulating figures that continue to populate Magassa’s canvases are a direct allusion to the Kourédougas – ritual dancers shrouded in mystery. The Kourédougas are members of a non-religious community who follow a code of conduct and a philosophy that emphasizes wisdom, righteousness and humility. These are values and ideals that also have a special meaning for Famakan Magassa. Outwardly, the Kourédougas can be recognized by their festive and extravagant clothing made of hats, feathers, objects and jewelry, which they use to express their sense of dignity and beauty.

Famakan Magassa is represented as an artist by the AG18 Gallery in Vienna: www.ag18gallery.com