Houkami Guyzagn Gallery is the result of a thought built over the years with the objective of promoting young Ivorian talents and more broadly regional talents. Thierry Dia was able to make this project a reality thanks to the support of many friends. Today the Houkami Guyzagn Gallery is a creative residence that welcomes and accompanies young talents.

Houkami Guyzagn Gallery, a creative residence

The Houkami Guyzagn Gallery takes its name from two words: Houkami, in Baule, which means “Help me,” and Guyzagn because Guy evokes Guy Nairay, “who helped others”, and Zagn for the phonetic reminder to ” design “and the manga side that Thierry Dia loves.

Therefore, Houkami Guyzagn is to help with the good will of Guy Nairay, without expecting anything in return.

Originally, Thierry Dia opened the Houkami Guyzagn Gallery in 2001 settled at the 2 plateaux next to Cité Lemania. At the same time, he launched a platform for exchanges and debates around the arts called “Apéro-Arts” and created an art magazine entitled “Guyzagner, patron of art”. They allow him to accompany the promotion of the plastic arts.

 

Driven by the craze, he moved into the Riviera Bonoumim by creating a creative residence: The new Houkami Guyzagn Gallery. This new place has a larger space to accommodate artist residencies for artistic production. There is a restaurant, an indoor showroom called the Mathilde Moreau Gallery, an outdoor showroom and a lounge bar for chatting.

 

This gallery doesn’t sign a contract with the artists. For Thierry Dia, it’s importnant to not lock up a young artist to Houkami Guyzagn Galleryand allow him to take different opportunities with different galleries in the aim to build his career. A logical decision that made some artists to develop special links with the Gallery. We could consider Soro Pehouet, Abolikan, Serge Gossé, Jean-Baptiste Djeka or Daniel Bamigbabe. Big names such asYoussouf Bath, Mathilde Moreau, and Ouattara Watts also remain attached to the Gallery, which is a small house of artists.