Yves Makongo

Biography

Yves Makongo was born in 1984 in Douala, Cameroon. He is currently Artistic Director and Project Manager at the contemporary art centre doual'art. He graduated in human geography from the University of Douala, where he obtained a Master 1 in Environment in 2009. Very versatile, he easily switches from saw handling to purely intellectual work with new technologies. Since joining doual'art in January 2011, where he gained experience alongside Didier Schaub (1952–2014), he has assisted with scenography and exhibition setup, composition of neighborhood monographs, questionnaire surveys, management and supplies, and the follow-up of various projects.

He successfully ensured the success of two editions of the public art festival SUD, a triennial organized by doual'art: SUD2013, Douala Métamorphoses, and SUD2017, The Place of Human Dimension. He is an alumnus of Asiko Addis Ababa 2016 and Asiko Accra 2017, where he gained experience in curatorship. The causes that matter to him include human rights, art and culture, migrations and boundaries, health and the environment—all linked to identity matters.

In 2022, he participated in discussions around Decolonizing Museums through The MuseumsLab2022. Finally, doual'art's five-year program (2026–2030) focuses on memory education, the notion of collecting, and a redesign of the museum appropriate to the Cameroonian context. The theme for the coming years is art as a vector of contemporary heritage and collective identities.

Yves Makongo, Curator at doual'art in Douala, Cameroon, has been awarded by Mercedes Vilardell.