occupying a significant place nowadays.16 Additional biennials Since the beginning of the 21st century, at least seventeen art biennials popped up on the African continent (see end list). 17 The great difference with the 20th century is that almost all of these biennials are independent initiatives led by artists and non-profit organizations, i.e. East Africa Art Biennale, Salon Urbain de Douala, AFiRIperFOMA Biennial, Kampala Art Biennale or Rencontres Picha/Biennale de Lubumbashi. Some areas stand out as active artistic centers like Douala (Biennale de Douala DUTA, Salon Urbain de Douala), Morocco (with Casablanca and Marrakech Biennales), Lagos Biennial, Congo (Biennale de Lubumbashi, Yango Biennale) or the city of Kampala (KLA ART, Kampala Art Biennale). Even if some of these biennials are irregularly organized or even abandoned, they are nonetheless symptoms of a cultural effervescence and a will to promote and encourage local artists, be it on a regional level or on a more international one. The creation of a biennial not only proceeds from a political motivation, but it also depends on the capacity of the city to host the public. The existence of communication, transport and accommodation infrastructures is necessary and their absence thus requires a consequent budget to build and/or renovate them, which can be a problem for a city/country that does not have the resources to do so. To be accepted at a local level, that is to say, to have the support of the city council or the State, is a sine qua non condition to ensure longevity and financial stability to the biennial. For example, the disengagement of the Greater Johannesburg City Council in the Johannesburg biennale's project marked the end of the event. Nonetheless, it does not prevent independent, non-governmental, biennials to exist too. Only the future will tell if private investors will sustain such events on a regular basis for as long as the city of Venice or the State of Senegal have done so far. One aspect also very important to keep in mind is the fact that biennials are just events, even when they are institutionalized like DAK'ART or the Biennale de Bamako. Therefore, they must be seen as steps towards the establishment of sustainable structures to support and promote local artists on a daily basis. The opening to the international art arena brought by a biennale is an essential dimension, which pertains then to the location's inscription (be it a city