By the poolside of La Fourchette de Rōze hotel in Grand Bassam, a Côte d’Ivoire city sandwiched between the Ébrié lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, a birthday party was in progress. On the second-floor gallery, the artist Nuits Balnéaires stood by a huge painting and looked out towards the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s poetic … that immense energy of the ocean, which also fuels my work,” the Ivorian visual artist said. “The natural elements are the very essence and foundation of my artistic practice,” he added, reflecting on how his name, translating as “coastal nights”, matched the ambience.
Exodus from Abidjan
Many families in Abidjan, the commercial capital of the west African country, have often drifted to Grand Bassam, just 30 miles (45km) to the east, for Sunday relaxation. Nuits Balnéaires, whose childhood visits gave him a strong connection to the city, moved there permanently in July 2019 from his family home in Abidjan.
In the last decade, it has become a road well travelled. As rents continue to rise amid a cost of living crisis in Abidjan, residents there, especially artists, have been reconsidering their lives in the city.
“It [is] increasingly difficult for many artists to maintain studio spaces in the city,” said the Abidjan-based art collector Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu. “As a result, they are seeking more affordable alternatives in places such as Grand Bassam, Bingerville, and increasingly even farther afield in Dabou and Jacqueville. Grand Bassam itself is becoming more expensive, prompting some artists to relocate even farther out.”
Grand Bassam’s revival
The biggest beneficiary of the exodus from Abidjan has been Grand Bassam, the country’s first capital, where colonial architecture was listed as a Unesco world heritage site in 2012. With scenic beachfronts, fresher food, cheaper markets, proximity to the airport and a sense of nostalgia, the city represents an easier pick than Abidjan.
For the Guadeloupe-born artist Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux, it makes “a very calm and soothing place that’s conducive to working and finding inspiration”. Five years ago, he moved from Paris to Abidjan, then two years ago to Grand Bassam, where he now has a studio and apartment.
Once a centre of cultural trade and tourism, Grand Bassam lost appeal as Abidjan became more cosmopolitan. A jihadist attack in 2016 that left 19 people dead also punctured the town’s reputation.
New spaces and optimism
Evidence of renaissance abounds. Last year, the former colonial customs and post office building reopened after restoration as La Maison de l’Art, a contemporary art museum with a sculpture garden and cafe. At the launch, culture minister Françoise Remarck said the collaboration between private and public sector was a “fresh breath of life” to the old city. “Today, we are doing much more than opening the doors of a space dedicated to art,” she said. “We are taking an act of recognition and appreciation of African artistic genius.”
Other organisations follow the same route. La Fourchette de Rōze, a boutique hotel, became a creative hub: in January 2023, it began an artist-in-residence programme that has brought in more than two dozen artists and musicians so far from all over the globe, including Nuits Balnéaires. La Cocoteraie des Arts, a creative space with an open-air art atelier and gallery in Mondoukou, also offers artist residences.
Across Grand Bassam, dozens of new studios are popping up. Later this year, the Ivorian-French photographer Aïcha Fall will add another. “I grew up in the French countryside and I’ve always loved a place that is calm,” said Fall, who moved to Grand Bassam in 2023. “Bassam represents all of that. It offers you time for reverie, unlike Abidjan, which is always effervescent.”
Cautious outlook
Some enthusiasts predict the city could eventually upstage Abidjan as an art haven. However, most galleries and art institutions remain in Abidjan, as do many collectors and patrons. Festivals such as Abidjan art week still bring people from across the continent.
“Rather than weakening the scene, this geographical shift has created a different dynamic,” Agborsangaya-Fiteu said. “Artists benefit from more affordable and inspiring places to work while remaining close enough to the city to participate in exhibitions, openings, and other cultural activities whenever needed.”
Nuits Balnéaires agreed, noting the situation was like having his cake and eating it. “One of the advantages is that in Bassam, you can feel very disconnected, yet at the same time, you’re not that far removed from what’s happening in Abidjan.”
