Siriki Ky Burkinabé, b. 1953
"Siriki Ky is a sculptor of territories — from the granite plateaux of Burkina Faso to the snows of Europe, he carves stone, bronze, and iron as a form of cultural memory and living dialogue."
Siriki Ky (born 1953, Treichville, Côte d'Ivoire) is a Burkinabé sculptor and cultural organiser who is one of the defining figures of contemporary African sculpture. Trained at the École des beaux-arts in Abidjan and the Accademia delle Arti di Pietrasanta in Tuscany, he settled in Burkina Faso where he developed a practice rooted in ancestral bronze-casting techniques, granite carving, and public art. Founder of the Laongo International Granite Sculpture Symposium — a biennial open-air museum and residency — and winner of the Fondation Afrique en Créations prize (1996), his work bridges traditional craft and contemporary sculpture on an international stage.
"Stone is not inert — it has memory, weight, and presence. My task is simply to reveal what is already there."
Siriki Ky was born in 1953 in Treichville, Côte d'Ivoire. He received his initial training at the École des beaux-arts in Abidjan, then pursued advanced studies at the Accademia delle Arti di Pietrasanta in Tuscany, Italy — one of the world's foremost centres for marble and stone carving. He subsequently settled in Burkina Faso, a country he has made the principal arena for his artistic and cultural projects.
Deeply committed to the idea that art is a participatory act, Ky works in situ and in public, casting bronze in traditional forges and carving granite outdoors so that visitors can witness the process of creation. He works across granite, stone, wood, bronze, and iron, drawing on the formal languages of both Western academic sculpture and West African craft traditions.
His most significant contribution to cultural infrastructure is the Laongo International Granite Sculpture Symposium — a biennial residency and open-air museum established on the granite plateau of Laongo, near Ouagadougou. The site, which he conceived and continues to animate, has become one of Africa's most remarkable outdoor sculpture parks, gathering artists from across the world. He has participated in international symposia in Canada, France, Asia, and throughout Africa, and directed the Ben Amira sculpture symposium in Mauritania and the Afrikabidon symposium in the Ardèche, France.
In 1996, he was awarded the prize of the Fondation Afrique en Créations for the Laongo project. His practice stands as a powerful affirmation of Burkinabé cultural identity on the world stage.
Major projects: Laongo International Granite Sculpture Symposium (founder & director, biennial); Ben Amira Sculpture Symposium, Mauritania; Afrikabidon Symposium, Ardèche, France.
International participations: sculpture symposia in Canada, France, Italy, Asia, and Africa.
Awards: Prix de la Fondation Afrique en Créations (1996).
Collections and exhibitions: Paris Africa Gallery, Paris; La Galerie 38; Galerie Studer; international private collections.