« Art is an unstoppable weapon of resistance when it is a vector of humanism and a tool for the development of oneself. »
Born in 1971 in Ouagadougou, Hamed Ouattara first studied accountancy, then fashion before establishing himself as a self-taught painter. After training at the Olorun Foundation, he took a course as part of "Ouag'Art '96" and trained in design at "The National Higher School of Industrial Design" in Paris back in 2003. He has taken part in several collective and individual exhibitions in Ouagadougou and held exhibitions abroad including in Brussels, Strasbourg, Paris, Miami, Algiers and Turin. In 2021, Foreign Agent presented a new selection of pieces by Hamed Ouattara, including the iconic Indigola.
Ouattara transforms and upcycles local, discarded objects into a modern design. His art displays metal, plastic, wood or used petrol and oil drums repurposed into functional, luxury pieces of furniture. Each art piece unleashes recollection of its former life and the stories it carries, stories of environmental injustice and global consumerism. He stands out worldwide for his modern furniture design and art.
His art and design studio “Studio Hamed Ouattara” has a dozen of local artisans who work full-time and benefit from a technical apprenticeship. It aims to support talented young people who lack visibility by providing them with tools, coaching and training to influence the policy of design development and take up the challenge of economic inequality through the creation of jobs in Burkina Faso.
Read our interview in FR with Hamed Ouattara for The Debrief here