Building a Legacy: Rediscovering Souleymane Keïta @ Art Basel, Exchange Circle: Souleymane Keïta

How is art history written—and rewritten?

Drawing on her work with the estate of Senegalese artist Souleymane Keïta (1947–2014), Delphine Lopez, Director of Galerie Cécile Fakhoury Dakar, presents the first monograph dedicated to the artist, published by Éditions Cécile Fakhoury in 2024. Through archival material, original research, and key works from a formative period of experimentation, the talk offers an insider's perspective on the process of documenting, preserving, and reactivating an artistic legacy. Against the backdrop of renewed institutional interest in African modernisms, it explores how publishing, scholarship, and estate work contribute to expanding the histories of art and shaping the artists who become part of its canon.