Dakar's African Art Biennial

In a city promising oceanside feasts of filet de rouget and honeyed mango but also throngs of peddlers selling batiks, African masks, jewelry, beads and junk along Dakar's bustling, congested boulevards, the eighth Contemporary African Art Biennial runs through June 9, providing a fascinating cultural experience for the adventurous traveler. The Dak'Art Biennial brings together art enthusiasts from all over the world, transforming the Senegalese capitol into a roving art market and veritable museum, with several large galleries and over 160 smaller exhibition sites tucked away into banks, hotels, shops and restaurants.

Tour Dakar

Stroll alongside graceful Dakarese draped in bolts of ochre, chartreuse, cobalt and indigo cloth, barter for a barracuda or a handful of sunflowers and then pop into The Armory to see achingly beautiful sculptures and provocative installations by the best contemporary African artists. Cross the street to the Patisserie La Royaltine and savor an eclair au chocolat before ambling past the minaret and numerous jewelry boutiques selling berber filigreed pendants on your way to the National Gallery of Art. If you're brave, quench your thirst at the small, streetside tables where women sell pint-sized plastic baggies filled with pink fruit juice, and then head over to the exhibit at the French Institute for another fix of painting and sculpture.

Goree Island

The ridiculously-overcrowded Alham buses will take you anywhere you desire, or take a taxi to the quai and score a short ferry ride to Goree Island to enjoy the sandy beach and Biennial installations at the Maison des Esclaves. Find Marie Jose Crespin's MJC Creations next door to the old slave house and admire her utterly exquisite, African-infused jewelry, perhaps the most marvelous items in the Dak'Art festival.

Dining Out

Escape from the eye-stimulation to the Novotel Dakar, an oasis on the edge of the Atlantic, with a pool and gardens, a bar and internet, situated centrally and an ideal place to rub shoulders with the international array of artists. Enjoy the pleasures of French dining in the hotel restaurant Cote Jardin, sampling the fresh fish brochette or a Senegalese stew of fruits de mer and sweet yams. For those suffering from food allergies or celiac disease, finding a gluten-free restaurant in Dakar is a breeze with restaurants offering plenty of rice, potatoes, fish, and vegetables served up by helpful waiters willing to accommodate special preparation of dishes in a "natural" way. Sample the twin restaurants next door, Lagon I and Lagon II, relaxing on sun-drenched, umbrella-covered decks before digging into the filet de rouget and fresh mango.

Souvenirs

Purchase souvenirs to remember an adventure vacation in Dakar's incredible rambling markets, including Soumbedjoune for ceremonial masks, African antiques, and beaded necklaces of dried earth or glass. On a Sunday try Sandaga Market, making an effort to see especially the studios of the Senegalese glass painters, a famous regional art form. The HLM Market is a wonderful place to buy batiks and indigo prints amidst the tailors warming their irons over a fire and sewing dresses on ancient SInger machines. In a word, say wow, the local-woloff-language word for yes, say wow to reveling in an art vacation in Dakar.

Hotel Novotel: Avenue Abdoulaye Fadiga, BP 2073, Dakar (tel 221-849-6161)

Restaurants Lagon I and II: Route de la Corniche, Dakar (tel 221-823-5831)

MJC Creations: Goree Island, Dakar (tel 221-821-3741)

Patisserie La Royaltine, Avenue Lamine Gueye, Dakar (tel 2221-821-9994)

Institut Francais, Avenue Joseph Gomis, Dakar (tel 221-823-0320)

Mother with Two Kids

Alham Bus Rider

Elegant Strolling Lady

Ironing in the HLM Market

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