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Sindika Dokolo (born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)〔(Biography of Sindika Dokolo on Pitigrili ) (English/Portuguese)〕 is a Congolese arts collector and businessman. He owns the most important collection of contemporary African art which includes more than 5.000 pieces.〔(Sindika Dokolo promotes African art, Expresso Online )〕〔(Sindika Dokolo: "Angolan artists have the strength to build the future", Africa Today Magazine )〕 He is the husband of businesswoman Isabel dos Santos from Angola.〔(GeneAll.net: Sindika Dokolo )〕 He was brought up in Belgium and France by his parents, bank owner, millionaire and passionate for African arts, Augustin Dokolo〔(Biography of Augustin Dokolo )〕 and his Danish wife Hanne Kruse.〔(''Art in a State of Emergency: Figuring Angolan Nationalism, 1953-2007'' Dissertation by Delinda Collier ) Arizona State University 2004 | ''His mother was a functionary of the Danish Red Cross who, when supervising aid and training in the Congo in 1966, met and married Sanu Dokolo, a friend of Mobutu in the early days of Congolese independence.''〕〔(GeneAll.net: Hanne Taabbel Kruse )〕 He attended the Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Paris from which he graduated, later he studied economics, commerce and foreign languages at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. In 2003 he married Isabel dos Santos, the eldest daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola. == Promoting African arts == Through Sindika Dokolo's father initiative, he started an arts collection at the age of 15. During an interview to Angolan TV network TPA, Sindika Dokolo said his parents already very much liked art: his mother took him to visit all the museums in Europe and his father was a great collector of classical African art.〔(Interview of Sindika Dokolo to TPA2, Dinheiro Vivo )〕 In 1995 he decided to return to then Zaire to join the large - in total 17 companies consisting family business - (banking, breeding, fishing, coffee exportation, real estate, consumer goods distributor, merchandise conveyance, printing, insurance, mining and car selling).〔(The Dokolo companies )〕 The country collapsed and their activity couldn’t survive. Sindika took in hand the family business. These family businesses were later nationalized by the then Government of Zaire in 1986 under former head of state Mobutu Sese Seko. Later he started the "Sindika Dokolo Foundation" (Portuguese: ''Fundação Sindika Dokolo'') in order to promote numerous arts and culture festivals at home and abroad. Its mission is to create a center for contemporary art in Luanda, in the display, and not only pieces of contemporary African art, but also create the conditions and activities which are necessary to integrate African artists in the international circles of the art world.〔(Homepage Sindika Dokolo Foundation )〕 Sindika states that his connection to the arts is not intended to be recognized as a great collector, but rather "to present African artists to the world". Sindika Dokolo started expositions like the ''SD Observatorio'' (July 2006 - August 2006) at the Valencia Institute of Modern Art in Valencia (Spain), the ''Trienal de Luanda'' (December 2006 - March 2007) in Luanda, or the ''Check List Luanda Pop'' (June 2007 - November 2007) at the 52nd Venice Biennale, Venice (Italy). When the German collector Hans Bogatzke died, the curator Fernando Alvim suggested to Sindika Dokolo that he buy the 500 piece collection. The collection was secured for a low price because Hans Bogatzke’s widow, despite loving her husband, didn’t want the responsibility and was pleased knowing it would be shown in Africa.〔(Sindika Dokolo promotes African art, Expresso Online )〕 With the goal of showing contemporary art production to African audiences, Sindika Dokolo has brought his collection to Luanda in regular events, including the Trienal of Luanda. On January 25, 2009 he organized a huge exposition by Luanda's 434th anniversary, called ''Luanda Suave e Frenética'', with many artists reflecting on various ways about a "vibrant and smooth" city. The Sindika Dokolo Foundation organizes the participation of Angola in the Venice Biennale. The Foundation follows the principle of borrowing freely its pieces to any international museum as long as that museum presents the same exhibit in an African country. In December 2013 Sindika attended the opening of the VII Biennial of Sao Tome and Principe, international art exhibition in the country, where the art works of Sindika Dokolo Foundation are exposed. In an interview with Portuguese newspapper ''Jornal de Negócios'', the art collector talked about his collection, arguing that "the added value of contemporary African art scene is to give a sensible and intelligent perspective of a continent that is constantly on the move”, aspects that will, in his opinion, project the African continent in the future. In 2014 Sindika Dokolo took part in world's leading African art, the "1:54",〔(1:54 Fórum, Official Site )〕 held in London between 16 and 19 October, with the participation of many well-known personalities, including Lupita Nyong'o.〔(Hollywood muse Lupita Nyong'o stuns in silk LBD as she leads the glamour at charity art dinner in London, Daily Mail )〕 At this event, a number of artists and celebrities, as the model Alek Wek or singer Keziah Jones, publicly expressed their support and appreciation for the work of the collector, highlighting the role that Sindika Dokolo Foundation has played in the development of contemporary African art. On the sidelines of this participation, Sindika Dokolo told New African Magazine〔(1:54 Forum: Sindika Dokolo in conversation with Osei Bonsu, New African Magazine )〕 about his projects for Angola and how "contemporary African art should be accessible to African and impact their lives."〔(Sindika Dokolo Foundation highlighted in World's leading African Art Fair, Angola Monitor )〕 In March 2015, Sindika Dokolo was awarded with Medal of Merit by the city of Oporto, with regard to the contemporary art exhibition "You Love Me, You Love Me Not".〔(La fondation Sindika Dokolo s'expose à Porto ) Jeune Afrique, 05 March 2015 (in French)〕〔(Medalha de Mérito distingue coleccionador de arte ) Jornal de Angola, 09 March 2015 (in Portuguese)〕 This honor is the city recognition of the contribution of Sindika Dokolo, which allowed the city of Oporto to develop one of the most relevant projects within the contemporary art of today, helping to establish a "natural bridge" between the city and the world.〔(Sindika Dokolo recebe Medalha de Mérito da cidade do Porto ) Briefing Angola, 11 March 2015 (in Portuguese)〕 The exhibition features works from the art collector's collection and brings together fifty artists (not all Africans).〔("É uma coleção africana de arte, não é uma coleção de arte africana" ) Diário de Notícias, 6 March 2015 (in Portuguese)〕〔(“Num continente como África, a arte é necessariamente política” ) Público, 8 March 2015 (in Portuguese)〕 This is the most important exhibition of the collection of Sindika Dokolo Foundation ever achieved and it is considered the largest existing African art collection.〔(Oporto acogerá muestra del mayor coleccionista de arte contemporáneo africano ) El Confidential, 4 March 2015 (in Spanish)〕〔(Sindika Dokolo leva a maior coleção de arte africana ao Porto ) Diário de Notícias, 23 February 2015 (in Portuguese)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sindika Dokolo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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