Kheraba Traoré

@Kheraba Traoré, born in 1987 in Senegal, joins the Dakar School of Fine Arts. He decides to dedicate his work to the condition of children and to denounce through his works  violations of children’s rights by adults. His commitment is particularly dedicated to street children, the talibés.

@Entrusted by their families, often poor and rural, to Koranic schools (Daaras) to receive religious education, these talibé children are most often boys aged 4 to 15. To pay for their education, children must perform domestic tasks. They are most often forced to beg and suffer many abuses which are regularly  denounced by humanitarian organizations. Although the Senegalese government committed in 2016 to end this modern slavery, the global economic crisis and the Covid 19 pandemic slowed down the law Enforcement punishing this type of child trafficking.

@Lorsque le spectateur prend un moment pour s’arrêter et réfléchir : chacune de ses œuvres est un plaidoyer pour le respect des enfants et une déclaration contre les violences qui leur sont faites.  Les thèmes de Kheraba sont récurrents sur toutes ses toiles : d’abord et avant tout, les enfants et leurs droits aux 10 principaux piliers de la Convention des Droits de l’Enfant des Nations Unies ratifiée par tous les pays du monde sauf les USA en 1989.

@ His works use inspiration from childhood cartoons with partially defined children’s characters covered with bright and fluorescent coloured splashes creating a conversation with the viewer around the themes of innocence, resilience in the wake of these stories of children who spent their days navigating between street violence and the innocence of children’s games. Traoré portrays these children in an uncompromising style, sharing an honest and innocent perspective on the inspiring stories of these resilient children

@In celebration of International Children’s Day on November 20, 2021, which will close the exhibition, we are delighted to exhibit this artist who was inspired by the 7Y in Wolof  (dominant language in Senegal ) starting with Y such as Yar: Yiir: Yor: Yedd: Yemale: Yee: Yeug which mean Educate… Protect… Take care of…. Counsel… help to Guarantee their rights… help Awaken and  to give love and affection to a child. His works are a real advocacy for the rights of children. His works  challenge the systemic social stigma and violence which are faced by many street children in many  urban environments in Africa.

@Because this artist’s voice must be heard, his creations have migrated to the North (now in Switzerland, at the ILAB-Design Gallery) Our exhibition is an echo of his voice: art must become engaged ! It can help convey to he public the challenge around  children’s rights as proclaimed by  the United Nations Charter.