A hefty new publication brings together a century of diverse Cameroonian visual art, documenting everything from traditional royal carvers and bronze-smiths to modern works inspired by the nation's turbulent political history. Titled Ô Cameroon!, the 424-page volume features 180 artists and is set to launch at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, with subsequent stops planned in Abidjan, Paris, Douala, and Yaoundé.
The project was conceived and curated by Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu, an Abidjan-based collector and development finance executive. During her travels, she repeatedly encountered artists from her homeland across different generations and noticed a glaring lack of a centralized archive or directory. Driven by a feeling of urgent responsibility to prevent these artistic histories from disappearing, she spearheaded the compilation.
The book spans the period from 1919—following the division of the former German colony of Kamerun between French and British authorities—through 2025. Despite colonial looting and the underground preservation of cultural work by societies of artists, including royal carvers in the walled city of Foumban under Sultan Njoya, the rich artistic traditions often remained undocumented. Agborsangaya-Fiteu describes the publication as an act of cultural recovery and restitution, noting that Cameroonian sculptors historically predated and influenced European modernism.
Covering both anglophone and francophone regions in a non-chronological layout, the volume includes prominent figures from across the globe. Among them is the Cameroonian-Guadeloupean-French artist Roxane Mbanga, who views the book as a vital form of recognition and a legacy for younger generations seeking representation. Other contributors include the late painter-sculptor Koko Komégné and Amsterdam-based artist Em’kal Eyongakpa, whose work touches upon regional conflicts and displacement.
Reflecting on the emotional weight of the project, Agborsangaya-Fiteu emphasizes the importance of independent storytelling. Referencing the proverb that if the lion does not tell its story, the hunter will, the book serves as a multi-voiced platform for Cameroonians to define their own complex artistic narrative.