Mr. Christophe (photos below, top left) is the President of the Kinshasa Art Market; he coordinates the association of art dealers and liaises with authorities to address daily issues. He is himself a sculptor and has been in the business for several years.

Mr. Pascal (top right) grew up in a family of artists. He is a sculptor, trader, and also collector of antiques. He has worked in the market for decades and he deplores the deterioration of the market, which he sees as a symptom of the falling interest Congolese have in their own culture and traditions.

Mr. Ricky Mukanu (middle) was among the first artists who founded the market. He explains that contrary to European art, African art does not represent or imitate nature, nor does it try to look like something or someone real. On the contrary, African art is essentially evocative: it aims at making visible a series of abstract ideas, powers, or spirits.

Mr. Bienvenue (bottom left) is a committed antique collector. He travels for weeks to reach extremely remote villages where he trades masks or statues for bags of salt or bicycles. In many parts of the DRC, money has no use. Bienvenue has spectacular pieces that would certainly find a place in a museum or in a collector’s home. However, he explains that there are very few clients for his business. He worries that the absence of tourists and the rapidly urbanizing country will do nothing to help traditional art to stay alive.

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