Ohioan Talle Bamazi has opened a contemporary art museum, KIJAIN Contemporary Art Museum in Lome, Togo, West Africa.

KIJAIN means museum in Kabye language in northern Togo.

“This is the first contemporary art museum in Togo, probably in West Africa,” Talle Bamazi told the New Americans magazine.

“Its present location is a prelude to the museum that we are planning to build in the next five years.”

According to Talle, “we are working with other artists in Ghana, Nigeria and other West African countries to explore the opportunity of displaying their arts at the KIJAIN Art Museum.”

Born in Kara, Togo, West Africa, Talle Bamazi can be described as an artist who uses canvas as a site for activism. Through his art, Talle is intently compelled to share the story of his homeland while purposefully paying homage to his ancestors and the culturally significant ties between traditional and contemporary ideas.

Bamazi established the Kabiye Impact Contemporary African Art (KIACA) Gallery in 2003, located in Columbus, Ohio, where he was able to educate patrons on the enduring cultural gifts of his beloved Africa, while also serving as an influential talent incubator for young artists of color.

He has had several solo exhibitions, including Brecht Forum in New York and Goethe Institute in Lomé, and has been featured at the Columbus Museum of Art and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. 

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