Annie Kadji Art Gallery 

21 -22 Aout 2026

Bonapriso, Douala 

11-13 Decembre 2026

T“Où nous vivons – Vivre Ensemble”

A Celebration of Bantu Culture, Arts, Forests and Community in Cameroon

Festival Bantu is a 3 day cultural festival celebrating the richness of Bantu identity, heritage, and ways of living together. Rooted in the values of solidarity, hospitality, and collective belonging, the festival is guided by the philosophy: “Chez nous, c’est chez vous” — our home is your home. In Bantu culture, once someone is welcomed into the community, there is sharing, collaboration, and mutual respect; no one is excluded. At a time when social cohesion and intercultural dialogue are more important than ever, Festival Bantu proposes culture as a space for unity, transmission, and collective celebration.

Led by the artists of Association Art AfroBantu and their extensive networks, including collaborations through the Pôle Arts of the Ministry of Arts & Culture, the festival brings together the public with artists, customary authorities, youth, and communities to celebrate Bantu traditions through a wide range of artistic expressions. These include exhibitions, participatory performances and lessons in visual arts such as pottery, sculpture, masks, bronzes, textiles and fashion; music, dance and storytelling in Bantu languages by griots and films; gastronomy and architecture. Through performances and master classes, the festival creates an immersive experience that engages all the senses and reconnects younger generations with their cultural roots while honouring ancestral knowledge and creativity.

Festival Bantu places strong emphasis on the relationship between Bantu peoples and the forests of the Congo Basin. Trees occupy a central symbolic and spiritual place in Bantu cultures: they provide food, medicine, shade, materials, and spaces for dialogue and ceremony. Under the “arbre à palabre,” people can gather to speak, resolve conflicts, and transmit wisdom and joy. The festival will use the symbolism of trees and forests to explore themes of environmental stewardship, collective identity, and coexistence between humans and nature. In Bantu traditions, trees often symbolize the unity of the village itself, reinforcing the festival’s core theme of “vivre ensemble.” A competition with prizes awarded for the demonstration of traditional stewardship, which can be presented creatively, is aimed  young people to promote this aspect and encourage intergenerational transmission.

The venue is the Ethnographic Museum of the People of the Forest in Cameroon, Elig Essono, Yaounde a beautiful setting where culture, memory, and nature converge. The museum’s natural and cultural environment creates a powerful backdrop for performances, exhibitions, workshops, and intergenerational encounters. The festival brings together chiefs, notables, and custodians of tradition whose participation is essential to ensure authenticity, transmission of knowledge, and dialogue between contemporary artistic creation and ancestral practices. 

The Festival showcases the tangible and intangible heritage of these cultures through visual arts, music, dance, languages, gastronomy, traditional crafts, and forest-related traditions. The festival draws upon the recognized expertise of the Afro-Bantu Art Association in promoting local artists and cultures, and the strong cultural, scientific, and community presence of the Ethnographic Museum of Forest Peoples. Together, they bring the public in contact with artists, traditional leaders, researchers, artisans, young creators, and cultural stakeholders making the Bantu Festival a major cultural event in Cameroon. The Festival champions a strong vision of "living together" based on the Bantu values ​​of solidarity, hospitality, cultural transmission, and respect for nature.

PAST EXHIBITIONS

Exposition Nouvelle Traditions

Blending old and new, mixing cultures, celbrating the old and welcoming the new traditions! On 13-16 June - it was a feast for your eyes, ears, mouth and body........

Mélanger l'ancien et le nouveau, mélanger les cultures, célébrer l'ancien et accueillir les nouvelles traditions ! Du 13 au 16 juin - il etait un régal pour vos yeux, vos oreilles, votre bouche et votre corps........

Artists:

Mekouti

Edancs Art Keder

Verina

Loïc Art

Art Sans Frontiers

Ndofoa

Ongolo

Daguem’S

Atouloo

Percussion

Zorobabel Paul A.

Dance

Ava Bihina Bruna

Artisans 

Ma Epicerie Fine

Rhum Arranges remK

AfriShop237

Eden Espoir Cacao 

hashtag#artexhibition hashtag#arts hashtag#Yaounde hashtag#artafrobantu

Program

Exposition Art AfroBantu Abondance!

Musée National, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Vendredi 13 janvier 2023

15.00 – 17.30 Cérémonie ouverture de l'exposition

Mots d’ouverture

Mekouti (Thierry Mekoa) - President Association Art AfroBantu 

Lemanti (Andre Limboum) - Coordinator Pole Arts Plastiques Ministry Arts & Culture 

Musique  (Paul Zorobabel & Justin Zeh) & dance (Bruna)

Tours des œuvres par les artistes

Ouverture de la grande œuvre d’art collaborative ''Abundance!''

Samedi 14 janvier 2023

11.00 -17.00 Exposition

Voir les œuvres d’art (des peintures, sculptures, accessoires contemporains, de la danse et de la musique) et parle direct avec les artistes

Art collaborative

Soirée Musique – Lily Ngo Makele Star de l’Intégration Culturelle Africain a Burundi 2022 & dance traditionaelle du Cameroon par Makuna Group

Dimanche 15 janvier 2023

11.00 -17.00 Exposition

Voir les œuvres d’art (des peintures, sculptures, accessoires contemporains, de la danse et de la musique) et parle direct avec les artistes

Art collaborative

PLEASE CONTACT OUR ARTISTS DIRECTLY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO BUY OR COMMISSION AN ARTWORK ! 

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR TÉLÉCHARGER LE CATALOGUE DE L'EXPOSITION ''ABONDANCE!"

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE CATALOGUE OF THE "ABUNDANCE!" EXHIBITION

 Award winning singer Lily (Stars de l'Intégration Africaine Festival  Bujumbura, Burundi 2022) signs the expo's Livre dÓr https://www.lily237.com

Soiree Saturday 14 January: Lily performs amongst our art! 

Mme Mazoume, Technical Adviser, Ministry of Arts & Culture signs the visitors book (Livre dOr) 

Signing the visitors book (Livre dOr)  (L-R)

Verina, Artist O'Theo, ''Lemanti'' Andre Limboum & Melingui Amban of Pole Arts Plastiques, Ministry of Arts & Culture,  Mekouti 

(L-R) Guest & Artists Elise, Evince & Verina

 Moussa Ben and Guillaume Ndassa, artists and sculpters of Art Sans Frontiers

Eden Espoir Cacao 

                                Artists Evince & Elise                                       Artiste  Elise supervising the collaborative art

Artists: Ami Jurensi, Elise, Guest, Evince, Mekouti, and Mme Melingui Ambani, Ministry of Arts & Culture

Artist Akentio Bonas

Handing over our letter of thanks and the collaborative artwork Abudance! (220 X 190 cm) to the Pole Arts Plastiques at the National Museum, Ministry of Arts & Culture, Yaounde on 17 January 2023