From September 19 to 22, 1956, Senegalese philosopher Alioune Diop convened the First Congress of Black Writers and Artists at the Sorbonne in Paris. Organized under the auspices of the Pan-African journal and publishing house Présence Africaine, this historic gathering brought together intellectuals and artists from Africa and across the diaspora, leaving a lasting mark on the cultural and intellectual history of the Black world.

On the occasion of its 70th anniversary, and following a three-day program organized by Présence Africaine and the African Cultural Community – including the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, an exhibition, talks, and a conference – the 70ème anniversaire du Congrès des écrivains et artistes noirs looks back at the legacy of this gathering and at the voices and trajectories that shaped it, notably through the figure of the “cursed artist”.

Programme

Screening of excerpts from Lumières noires by Bob Swaim (2006)

Talk: Présence Africaine, Then and Now

• Daniel Maximin (poet, novelist, essayist)

• Boniface Mongo-Mboussa (Editor-in-Chief of the Présence Africaine Review, writer, professor of cultural studies at Sarah Lawrence College in Paris)

• Nicolas Baudouin (photographer, professor of art history at Columbia, NYU & Sarah Lawrence College in Paris)

Roundtable: From 1956 to 2026: What Legacy?

• Boniface Mongo-Mboussa
• Lotte Arndt, Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Social History of Art at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
• Valérie Berty, Professor of Literature and Film at NYU Paris
• Keithley Woolward, Associate Director of the Master’s Program in History and Literature (MAHILI) at Columbia University in Paris

Meeting with the Présence Africaine team – The events will be held in French.

70ème anniversaire du Congrès des écrivains et artistes noirs
September 26, 2026
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, Reid Hall
4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris

Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center, the Columbia M.A. in History and Literature, Présence Africaine, Sarah Lawrence in France and NYU in Paris.

Visit the Columbia Global Centers website to register.

EXHIBITION – CONGRÈs 56

From September 17 to October 30, the Sorbonne hosts two exhibitions commemorating the 70th anniversary of the First Congress. Under the umbrella Congrès 56, the first, titled 1956 | MÉMOIRE D’UN CONGRÈS, is presented at the Galerie Soufflot basse and is curated by Florence Alexis in collaboration with Présence Africaine. The second, RÉSONANCES CONTEMPORAINES, is presented at the Galerie Soufflot haute with the curation of Tamandra Gény.

Visti Présence Africaine to learn more.