Created by the famous Cameroonian artist Bartélémy Toguo, it is a cultural center that brings together tradition and the contemporary, the North and the South of the world
He is famous for his works-installations dedicated to migrants such as Road to Exile (“Rotta verso l’esilio”), an enormous boat crammed with parcels of fabric that “floats” on a sea of empty bottles; or how The Missing Migrants Pillar (“The column of missing migrants”), a sort of pillar built with the same bundles of fabric exhibited until the end of January under the pyramid of the Louvre in Paris. But Bartélémy Toguo, an eclectic Cameroonian artist, is less known for what he created in his village of origin: the Bandjoun Station, an artistic center which is, at the same time, a museum – with a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions -, a library, a place welcome for local and international artists, and ecological, agricultural and social project. Here too, as in many of his works, Toguo manages to reconcile art, beauty and social commitment, bringing together tradition and the contemporary, but also the North and South of the world. Not without a political-polemical dimension: «It is essential that we Africans work out our solutions in all areas – argues Togou -. Our countries must equip themselves with a large number of lively and innovative structures, to stimulate the creation and desire for culture”. This is what he himself did with Bandjoun Station, “an authentic artistic adventure”, of which it is possible to enjoy a “taste” at the “Habiter la terre” exhibition in Nantes in France, until 17 September.
In Bandjoun, however, there is also another museum with extraordinary traditional objects bamileke, which are still used for large ceremonies. It was promoted by an Italian NGO, the Educational Orientation Center (Coe), which has worked a lot in Cameroon in the artistic and cultural fields.