Top street art in Dakar

Map of street art in Dakar (Senegal)

Dakar is the capital of Senegal, perched at the westernmost tip of the African continent on the Cap-Vert peninsula. A cultural crossroads of West Africa, the city gathers nearly four million people between its colonial Plateau district, the working-class alleys of Medina, and the modern extensions of Yoff and Almadies.

Its street art scene is one of the oldest on the continent. Docta (Amadou Lamine Ngom) tagged the city's first walls as early as 1988, then founded Doxandem Squad in 1994 - Africa's first graffiti collective. The Festigraff festival, which he co-organizes, has gathered dozens of pan-African artists every year on the capital's walls since the mid-2000s.

In the Medina district, the Yataal Art project has turned an entire neighborhood into an open-air museum since 2010, mobilizing over a hundred Senegalese and international artists. Dakar muralism combines political engagement, public health activism - the "Graff & Santé" caravan - and pan-African iconography, from wax fabrics to traditional masks.

Coming soon: city referents and ambassadors.