ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the relationship of the Off exhibitions to the Dak’Art Biennale as a whole and to Dakar’s art world city. Art World City argues for the need to interpret artists and artistic propositions in Dakar on their own terms. The Off exhibitions, once connoted by the marginality implied in their name, have become integral to Dak’Art’s programme, purpose and presence in the roster of international art biennials. The range of Off sites also highlights the overlay of Dakar’s creative economy and urban space while demonstrating the propensity of individuals and groups as cosmopolitan as Dakar itself to forge opportunity in the art world city. The fact that so many of Dakar’s artists participate in Off projects further emphasizes that those who make the scene in Dakar’s art world city also have a hand in shaping the experience of Dak’Art.
