Fatim Soumaré
Fatim Soumaré is a visual artist, researcher and weaver based in the Siin region of Senegal. Her work is rooted in the traditional textile crafts of West Africa, which she discovered through her mother, a traditional dyer. Her artistic practice focuses on socio-cultural and cultural methods of transmitting vernacular knowledge, which she explores through woven sculpture, immersive installations, video and performance.
Soumaré's work highlights the importance of maintaining and evolving traditional crafts in contemporary contexts, making a significant contribution to Senegal's rural ecosystem.
In 2021, Fatim founded Falé, a collective of 200 craftswomen, and set up a workshop-laboratory dedicated to research on cotton. This initiative examines the transformation of cotton over time, as a common thread for reflections on the divergent transmutations of our modern societies.
Her work has featured in solo exhibitions: Resurgence of the Oasis [The Caravans Road], Centre d’art La Boîte, Tunis, Tunisia (2025), The antique dealers, Pinda Lodj Market, Mar Island, Mar Lodj, Senegal (2024), Lam we nu kawuluxe [The griot's descendants], OFF Dak’Art, Agence Trames, Dakar, Senegal (2024). She has also taken part in numerous collective exhibitions, such as, “Sympnea”, curated by Camille Lévy Sarfati, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (2025), “Unbearable Border”, 4th Biennale Internationale de Sculpture de Ouagadougou [BISO], Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2025), “Deconstruction, Reconstruction”, Łódź International Tapestry Triennial, curated by Marta Kowalewska & Bukola Oyebode-Westerhuis, Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź, Poland (2025), “Campfire”, public space project Bonfire [Bålprosjektet] by Signe Domogalla & Lars Arstad, Utladalen National Park Center, Norway (2025), “Ndiaxass [Patchwork]”, curated by Torunn Skjelland & Samba Fall, Intercultural Museum, Oslo, Norvège (2024), “Yoonu ci biir [The Inner Path]”, by Mauro Petroni, Maurice Gueye Cultural Center, Tostan Inc, PARTCOURS 12, Rufisque, Senegal (2023), itinérant exhibitions “Sur le fil: de Dakar à Paris”, curated by Olivia Marsaud, Le 19M, Paris France and “Sur le fil” Le 19M-IFAN, Dakar, Senegal (2023), “ROOFOO (Intimate mix)”, Atiss Gallery, PARTCOURS 11, Dakar, Senegal (2022), “Fusion Vegetalis”, Centre Culturel Camille-Claudel, FITE - Textile Biennial, Clermont-Ferrand, France (2022). She has benefited from numerous residencies, including the Ouagadougou International Sculpture Biennale residency (2025).
Soumaré's work highlights the importance of maintaining and evolving traditional crafts in contemporary contexts, making a significant contribution to Senegal's rural ecosystem.
In 2021, Fatim founded Falé, a collective of 200 craftswomen, and set up a workshop-laboratory dedicated to research on cotton. This initiative examines the transformation of cotton over time, as a common thread for reflections on the divergent transmutations of our modern societies.
Her work has featured in solo exhibitions: Resurgence of the Oasis [The Caravans Road], Centre d’art La Boîte, Tunis, Tunisia (2025), The antique dealers, Pinda Lodj Market, Mar Island, Mar Lodj, Senegal (2024), Lam we nu kawuluxe [The griot's descendants], OFF Dak’Art, Agence Trames, Dakar, Senegal (2024). She has also taken part in numerous collective exhibitions, such as, “Sympnea”, curated by Camille Lévy Sarfati, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (2025), “Unbearable Border”, 4th Biennale Internationale de Sculpture de Ouagadougou [BISO], Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2025), “Deconstruction, Reconstruction”, Łódź International Tapestry Triennial, curated by Marta Kowalewska & Bukola Oyebode-Westerhuis, Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź, Poland (2025), “Campfire”, public space project Bonfire [Bålprosjektet] by Signe Domogalla & Lars Arstad, Utladalen National Park Center, Norway (2025), “Ndiaxass [Patchwork]”, curated by Torunn Skjelland & Samba Fall, Intercultural Museum, Oslo, Norvège (2024), “Yoonu ci biir [The Inner Path]”, by Mauro Petroni, Maurice Gueye Cultural Center, Tostan Inc, PARTCOURS 12, Rufisque, Senegal (2023), itinérant exhibitions “Sur le fil: de Dakar à Paris”, curated by Olivia Marsaud, Le 19M, Paris France and “Sur le fil” Le 19M-IFAN, Dakar, Senegal (2023), “ROOFOO (Intimate mix)”, Atiss Gallery, PARTCOURS 11, Dakar, Senegal (2022), “Fusion Vegetalis”, Centre Culturel Camille-Claudel, FITE - Textile Biennial, Clermont-Ferrand, France (2022). She has benefited from numerous residencies, including the Ouagadougou International Sculpture Biennale residency (2025).