Papa Adama (Adama Koudougou Sawadogo), 1980. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
At the age of 16, right after finishing high school, Papa Adama started his career as an autodidact. From
1998 till 2001 he was student and assistant of Ali Nikiema and specialized in bronze at the CNAA -
Centre National Artisanal d’Art in Ouagadougou. The following years he concentrated on painting and
was invited to expose in The Netherlands several times. In 2003, he moved to The Netherlands, shortly
after he started his education at the Rietveld Academie, he graduated in 2007. Since then Papa Adama
has been selected to join the Rijksakademie as an artist in residence starting in January 2008.
“My work talks about humanity, I create imaginary worlds that correspond to the world I live in.
I observe the movement and emotions of life by taking the image and colour of the people and
surroundings that I see and I hear.”