Regeneration

Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative Colours of Africa, a collaborative project with Google Arts & Culture, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them.

The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.

Colour:Moss
Country:Ivory Coast

Artwork Rationale:

Green is the colour of Ivory Coast.
Two objects (matter) represent the green:
1: The moss
2: The rice field
My rationale for choosing green:
Having extensively travelled the Côte d’ivoire for two weeks
After having watched my country’s landscape
After feeling the generosity and abundance of its nature (the Atlantic Ocean; lush, deep-green forest; electric-green rice fields; savanna; cascades; rivers; wet mountains...)
After tasting and collecting a large number of natural plants, including growing my own quinine in the time of COVID
After eating seasonal fruits and vegetables in their natural environment
I did not have any other choice but to choose green... the colour that stuck in my head after driving 1500 kilometres
Green talks to regeneration, growth, fresh air and chlorophyll
The same green substance that nurtured my breathing, my eating and my Ivorian-ness.

What it means to be African

Being African means that I am an integral part of what the future of humanity looks like.
We have somehow escaped the craziness of the global psyche, one that favours money making before the value of humankind.
Being African means that I will witness modern technology find new applications in our countries and in the process it will transform the way we think about our health, food, education, infrastructure, etc.
I dream of an Africa with children going to the field in the morning and connecting to the best education networks in the afternoon, therefore expanding the circle of knowledge beyond schools.

Biography

Issa Diabaté is the managing director of Koffi & Diabaté Architects and co-founder of the Koffi & Diabaté Group based in Ivory Coast.
Diabaté holds a master's in architecture from Yale University. After graduating, Diabaté interned from 1991 to 1993 at architecture firms in Côte d’Ivoire (Goly Kouassi), the United States (Devrouax and Purnell) and in France (Jean Nouvel et Catani) where he took part in the 'Cité Judiciaire de Nantes' contest.
In May 1994, he joined the SAU Guillaume Koffi office as an architect intern, and returned in 1995 as architectural projects manager. In 2001, Issa Diabaté became Guillaume Koffi’s partner with the creation of Koffi & Diabaté Architects.
Very much involved on the topic of African urban issues, Diabaté has participated in a number of local change-geared initiatives. As an architect practising on the continent, he aims to shed light on the issues at hand and on the creative solutions required to build the African City of Tomorrow. Diabaté has participated as speaker at Other Desires at Columbia University, New York, 2016; African Leadership Network, Kigali, 2014; Design Indaba, Cape Town, 2014; Afritekture, Munich, 2013; Ted Talk, Arusha, 2007.
A Member of Côte d’Ivoire’s Order of Architects, with whom he initiated Côte d’Ivoire’s first Architecture and Building Fair, ARCHIBAT in 2007, Diabaté is also involved in the design world and is a laureate of Senegal’s DAK’ART Contemporary Art Biennale (1998). Most recently, he participated in the exhibitions ABIDJANOW 2013 (Salon ARCHIBAT -Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire) and Design Indaba 2014 and 2017 (Cape Town, South Africa).
In 2019, he collaborated with the Swedish group IKEA for OVERALLT , the first IKEA collection by African designers.
For his work and contributions to his field and to the nation of Côte d’Ivoire, Diabaté has been appointed Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit.
Koffi & Diabaté’s works have been presented, internationally, at the Triennale di Milano and at the Louisiana Museum of Denmark.