Visual Artist and Founder of Rencontres d’art contemporain Gnanamaya in Burkina Faso.
Born in 1975 in Bobo-Dioulasso, “second city” of Burkina Faso, Issouf Diero was raised among the traditions of his Dafin people. At a young age, he confronted the reality of the streets. This part of his story, his particular ties to urban life, its hustles, and his familial origins, have served as a fountain of inspiration, the force behind his work.
Working in the late 90’s as a Vulcanizer by day, he created his first canvases and sculptures at night, working with tires, inner tubes, and recovered objects from the street. From 1999 to 2004, he created his first sculptures, canvases, and first large works. Over the years, rubber, laterite, charcoal and bronze have become his favorite materials: creative media that resonate with where he comes from, what he is, what he creates.
“Recovery is about making the material a witness to history, because the material says it all. By recovering, I want to show that artistic creation can give life."
Issouf Diero
Curriculum Vitae :
2007-2021:
Organization of Gnanamaya contemporary art meetings
2021:
Sept.-Nov: Exhibition at Solidarité Laïque as part of the Ouagadougou International Sculpture Biennial (BISO) - Off selection (Burkina Faso)
2019:
Oct: Exhibition within the framework of the First International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou (BISO) (Burkina Faso)
June - July: Artitude Exhibition in Epernay (France)
March - June: Artistic residency in Nantes (France) organized by AFP (France handicap). Scenography and workshops for a choreographic show.
2018:
Jan-Feb: Exhibition “Kunstraum 226” at the German Cultural Center in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
2017:
Sept.-Aug: Design training residency in Brest (France) August: Les Escales Africaines Festival in Epernay (France).
2013:
April: Exhibition in the town of Aÿ-Champagne (France)
Nov: Exhibition at the international trade fair Epernay (France)
2012:
March-June: Exhibition at the Cosmopolis space in Nantes (France)
Dec-Jan: Exhibition at the French Institute in Bamako (Mali)
2011:
Feb: Participation in the Festival sur le Niger in Ségou (Mali).
May-June: Exhibition at the LAFIBALA Festival in Chambéry (France)
2010:
Nov .: Exhibition of works at the SIAO (International Handicrafts Fair of Ouagadougou. French Embassy stand in Ouagadougou.
2009:
Artist residency at the French Cultural Center of Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). Collective creation of a monumental sculpture: "The KALAO". Residence and exhibition at the German Cultural Center of Ouagadougou. Children's workshops at the French Cultural Center of Bobo-Dioulasso and at the Music Museum
2008:
Installation of a monumental tire sculpture at the French Cultural Center of Bobo-Dioulasso (Elephant Gnanamaya). Exhibition at the Fondation Négritudes Mémoires Vivantes in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). Exhibition at the Galerie Rayon Vert in Nantes (France)
2006:
Exhibition in Montreal (Canada) in partnership with the Burkinabe AIDS association KA TA
2005:
Exhibition at Les Bambous cultural space in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso).