Paulo akam
“Drawing on my pride in my roots and my dedication to art and research, I aim to create a space for appreciation and to spark interest in the history and art of the African continent, which is none other than the history of humanity itself.”
Biography
Paulo Akam African Fine Art: Goals & Vision
After years of study, learning, and collecting classical African art, the Paulo Akam African Fine Art project was born. My primary goal is to contribute my small part to further solidifying the central place that African art, designated as tribal, deserves in the global world of visual arts. Collecting this form of art is collecting passion. Passion for forms, for aesthetics, for mystery, for history, for culture, and for knowledge. African art cannot be separated from the mysticism that surrounds it, and that is its great distinctiveness and its greatest appeal. Chinua Achebe said, referring to the art of his ethnic group (Igbo), but which can be extended to all of Africa, that: “the practical purpose of art is to channel a spiritual force into an aesthetically satisfying physical form that captures the presumed attributes of that force” (1989: 436). Once we understand this, we understand its meaning, its strength, its purpose, and its indissolubility from the human condition itself and our capacity, as humans, to create beauty and merge it with spirituality.
Collecting African art is both highly rewarding and challenging. It requires patience and continuous learning. Simply reducing so many ethnic groups and peoples who have produced, and some continue to produce, such diverse and precious objects to the simple label “African tribal art” is a bold undertaking that we are forced to assume before we begin the process of acquiring knowledge. But once immersed, we grasp the immensity those three words encompass. And it is precisely once immersed that we understand there are several variables to consider when acquiring or appreciating African tribal art: the most important being what I will call the “ethnic canon”. Each ethnic group has its own immemorial rules or precepts, guidelines and models that every sculptor respects. These are norms passed down from generation to generation, reflecting the unique heritage and collective imaginary of each group. Other variables following the “ethnic canon” are authenticity, aesthetics and expression, sculptural/plastic quality, traceability of the object’s origin and its social history—provenance— (whenever possible), and signs of having been used in its original context—that is, having fulfilled the function for which it was created. All these characteristics allow us to identify and value objects. This is no easy task. Unfortunately, the African classic art market is flooded with forgeries, and, considering that acquiring an object requires a financial investment, it is always advisable to seek counsel if in doubt or to purchase objects from specialized galleries/dealers that offer guarantees. It is also in this spirit that this project was born.
Paulo Akam African Fine Art aims to be a leading resource in the world of classical African art, providing rigorous, dedicated, trustworthy, and honest assistance to those who, for one reason or another, whether individuals or institutions, are drawn to this fascinating world, helping them build collections, learn, and appreciate it. I also wish to inspire and motivate a new generation of collectors and lovers of classical African art from all over the world, because art is meant to be appreciated regardless of where it is viewed from. In particular, another of my objectives is to motivate a new generation of African and African-descendant collectors who, like me, can not only appreciate but also feel pride in and find a connection to this immense cultural heritage, which, due to the course of history, many of us find distant and unknown.
Who is Paulo Akam?
Paulo Akam is a writer, a scholar and an independent consultant specializing in classical African art. He is a PhD researcher in African Studies at ISCTE-IUL in Lisbon, where he also completed his Master’s degree in the same field with a merit scholarship. As a scholar, Akam is dedicated to the social history of Africa and to the critical study of the continent’s visual and historical representations, exploring themes such as identity, slavery, and race — with a particular focus on Morocco’s 17th and 18th centuries and the sultanate of Moulay Ismail. He is the author of the dissertation ‘Abid al-Bukhari: ¿Esclavos “subsaharianos” o una élite “negra” en el Marruecos de Moulay Ismail (1672-1727)? Among his interests and fields of study are also postcolonial studies (Neocolonialism), African and diasporic social movements (Pan-Africanism) and classical African art.
Paulo Akam is the founder of the Amazigh Visual Fund and Research project, which promotes the appreciation of historical Amazigh visual expressions and representations, and is the author of several essays, short stories and the contemporary novel El Aroma de los Mangos (Barcelona, 2019), a work that reflects on the memories, relations and experiences of the African diaspora.
Paulo Akam, founder of Paulo Akam Fine Art