Decorating an Office With Contemporary Art in Dakar

To decorate an office or meeting room in Dakar with a work of art, three things matter before the simple coup de coeur: the size relative to the wall you have, the light in the room, and a subject pleasant enough to live with every day. At Ge'eza, in Point E, canvases by artists from East and West Africa are available for this purpose, with a certificate of authenticity and a price given on request.

Why an original piece rather than a print

An office often ends up with posters or prints, chosen quickly and swapped without much thought. An original work changes a room differently: it has texture, a hand, a story, and it becomes a point of reference for colleagues and visitors alike. For a company that receives clients or partners, a signed canvas also says something about the care put into the space.

Choosing the right size

Office space is often tight: a corridor, a wall behind a desk, a meeting room with just one free wall. Measure the wall before choosing a piece, leaving some margin on the sides rather than pushing the work to the edges. A medium size suits most individual offices, while a meeting room can take a larger piece, especially if it is seen from a distance by people sitting around the table.

Thinking about the light

Office lighting is often artificial, and sometimes quite harsh. A canvas with strong colours, such as those from the Lien commun hang, holds up well under this kind of light and stays legible even under a ceiling fixture. Avoid placing a work facing a window in full sun: direct light damages pigments over time, whether on a painting or on paper.

Choosing a subject that suits a workplace

An office is seen every day, by different people. An abstract composition, a landscape or a set of colours tends to suit better than a subject that is too personal or heavy, which can tire or unsettle some colleagues over time. A canvas such as "Foule," with its crowd rendered in touches of colour, suits a shared space well, since each person can read something different in it.

What is on show at Ge'eza

Ge'eza's gallery currently shows "Figures (2025)" by Saadio, in mixed media on canvas, "Sans titre I" and "Sans titre II," from the Lien commun hang, acrylic on canvas, 2025, and "Foule," an oil on canvas from the same year. These works can be seen in the gallery lounge, Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm, and their pages are listed on the gallery page.

How to buy a work for your office

The process is the same as for any purchase at the gallery. You ask for the price from the page of the piece you are interested in, the team replies on WhatsApp or by phone with the details and the certificate, then you pay by Wave, Orange Money, card or in person. The canvas is then collected at Point E, or delivered outside Dakar on request if your office is elsewhere. Every work sold leaves with a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Deciding as a group

For a wider sense of what to ask before a first office purchase, buying contemporary art in Dakar covers the questions worth raising before choosing a piece.

In a company, choosing a work often involves more than one person: management, a team, sometimes a communications department that receives visitors. To avoid back and forth, it helps to name one person to deal with the gallery on price and details, once the group has agreed on one or two pieces. If the choice comes down to two canvases, ask the team for a little time: nothing forces a decision on the day of the visit, and a second visit at a different hour, with different light, often helps settle it.

Budgeting ahead

As with any art purchase, the price of a piece for an office depends on the artist, the size and the technique, and is given on request. If several offices or rooms need decorating at the same time, it can help to agree an overall budget with the team first, then split it across the pieces chosen, rather than negotiating each canvas separately.

Several works for several offices

If you are decorating more than one space at once, think about an overall coherence: works from the same hang, such as "Sans titre I" and "Sans titre II," sit naturally together if placed in nearby offices or visible from one another. Describe your project to the team, who can point you towards pieces that work well side by side.

Visiting before you decide

Nothing replaces seeing a piece in person to judge its real size and how it responds to light. If your team is based in Dakar, organise a group visit to choose together: the gallery is at 656 avenue Birago Diop, in Point E. For any question, write on WhatsApp to +221 78 660 07 07 or to geezacultures@gmail.com.