Omar Victor Diop

Omar Victor Diop (born 1980) is a Senegalese photographer whose conceptually-rich work is exhibited around the world. He lives and works in Dakar and Paris, France.

Early life and education Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar, Senegal. He is the youngest of six children, and his parents valued education as a means to pursue opportunity. He and his siblings attended optimal schooling from a young age, which resulted in a career in finance and corporate communications. He studied at the ESCE International Business School in Paris before working at Ernst & Young as an analyst, and then with British American Tobacco in the African international relations department.

After a year-long sabbatical from corporate life, Diop made a shift towards a career in the arts in 2010. He produces work in series, and, much like Malian photographer Seydou Keïta, continues in the tradition of African studio photography. Project Diaspora (2015) - a self-portrait series in which Diop recreates 15th and 16th century European paintings of educated, stylish, and confident historical figures of the African diaspora. Diop plans to widen Project Diaspora’s scope to Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. Hopeful Blues (2015) - a series which explores hope and resilience through portraits of refugees of the UN Refugee Agency. (Part of his exhibit titled REFUGEE.) Liberty (2016) - a photographic series which recounts, interprets and juxtaposes historically defining moments of black history.

Exhibitions Diop has participated in numerous exhibitions internationally, including:

Group exhibitions Source: Untitled Miami Beach, Miami, Florida (2016) African Folk Art?: Contemporary Creations in Sub-Saharian Africa, FRAC, Aquitaine, France (2016) Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2017) Festival Photo, La Gacilly, Brittany, France (2017) Art/ Afrique, le nouvel atelier, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France (2017) African Passions, Cadaval Palace, Evora, Portugal (2018) Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany (2019)

1.54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Avenue Bad Jdid, Marrakech (2019) Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present, Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, Texas (2020)

Solo exhibitions Source: Untitled, Fotografiska Stockholm (2022) Untitled, Fotografiska Tallinn (2023) Untitled, Fotografiska Berlin (2024)

Collections Diop's work is held in a number of public collections, including:

Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France

Brooklyn Museum, New York, US Tang Museum at Skidmore College, New York, US Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, Illinois, US

Art market Omar Victor Diop is represented by the MAGNIN-A gallery in Paris, and by Elaine Harris with AfricaLive Productions.

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