In 1986, Jean-Michel Basquiat came to Abidjan. It was his first and only trip to the African continent: about ten days, an exhibition of 23 works at the Centre culturel français, and a journey north to Korhogo. Forty years later, the city has decided that this episode deserves more than a footnote.
On Saturday 10 October 2026, the Institut français de Côte d'Ivoire hosted "Palabres pour Basquiat", the opening symposium of a cultural season called STEREO FETISH. The format was chosen with care: a palabre, the conversation under the tree, rather than a row of academic papers. Its title, "Reading the spirit of the times from Abidjan", sets the vantage point.
The season is led by Anna-Alix Koffi, founder of the SOMETHING art space, with Simon Njami as general commissioner and Ange-Frédéric Koffi as guest curator. Speakers included Njami, María Elena Ortiz, Henri N'Koumo and the American artist Arthur Jafa. Its name comes from two drawings Basquiat made in Abidjan bearing the words "STEREO FETISH", which were later resold.
The groundwork is archival. Research conducted with Candice Guettey in Paris has reconstructed the 23 works shown in 1986 and assembled a corpus of 102 works, including a Sotheby's sale record for a drawing made in Côte d'Ivoire.
The programme now moves to Grand-Bassam, where SOMETHING opened on 11 October Arthur Jafa's first solo exhibition on the continent. Until August 2028, the season promises a scientific book, announced for 2027, three exhibitions in preparation and a documentary: an attempt to tell, from Abidjan, a chapter of art history long told from elsewhere.
