Isatou Fofana fondly known as Mama Africa has disclosed that the former president Yahya Jammeh only demolished the building but not the artist.
She was speaking to this reporter in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) on Saturday the 1st of December, 2018; at the Ebunjan Theatre along the Berthil Harding Highway.
Looking from my past and what I have gone through were very heavy but I stood as an artist. It was only the demolition of the building but not the artist,” Mama Africa recalled her past experience with the repressive regime of Yahya Jammeh.
Isatou Fofana returned to Banjul in 2010, to kick the start of a tourism venture with a view to promoting arts and gallery after a long stay in Germany where she was making a name for herself. In the month of February 2010, she opened her own museum with a gallery at Batokunku some 25km away from Banjul.
However, the former President Yahya Jammeh in 2015, ordered for the demolition of the Mama Africa Women’s Gallery, which caused a huge lost not only to her but to all teeming and fervent arts lovers who were shocked over the decision taken by the then autocratic leader.
Author: Kebba Ansu Manneh