Dia Nifanena: Madagascar in Dakar on 7 June 2026

"Dia Nifanena" was a day devoted to Madagascar on Sunday 7 June 2026, starting at 10am, at Ge'eza, 656 avenue Birago Diop, Point E, Dakar. The programme: Malagasy creations, encounters and flavours, with the artists Tefy KHT and Sarah Custer-Lalanne, coffee painting workshops, a market of Malagasy brands and local makers, live music with Malagasy artists, Ethiopian food and a coffee ceremony. Entry was 2,000 F for adults and 1,000 F for children.

A day rather than an evening

Most cultural events in Dakar happen at night. "Dia Nifanena" picked a Sunday from 10am, which changes the mood: you can come with family, wander, sit, leave and return. It is a day format, where every hour offers something different and nobody has to see everything.

The event page, Dia Nifanena, keeps the original description. This article draws out what it meant, for anyone who might come to a similar gathering later.

The artists: Tefy KHT and Sarah Custer-Lalanne

Two artists were featured: Tefy KHT and Sarah Custer-Lalanne, both linked to Madagascar. Their profiles are on the site: Tefy KHT and Sarah Custer-Lalanne. We add no biographical detail beyond what those pages say.

What we can say about the presentation lies in the formula: creations shown in a place that is both gallery and restaurant, so you look at work over a coffee rather than crossing a silent room.

The coffee painting workshops

The programme included painting workshops using coffee. The idea is simple and appealing: coffee becomes the material. It dilutes, stains, and leaves tones from cream to deep brown depending on concentration. Painting with what you drink brings the workshop close to the house, which makes the coffee ceremony a central moment.

Painting with coffee is about a moment of practice more than a gallery-ready result. If you are curious about workshops in Dakar more generally, see our round-up of creative workshops in Dakar.

The market of Malagasy brands and local makers

The market brought together Malagasy brands and local makers. Mixing the two is a good principle: the Dakar visitor discovers objects from the Indian Ocean, and Malagasy makers stand beside their Senegalese counterparts.

Madagascar is known for several crafts. The lamba, a large cloth worn as a wrap or shawl, is among the country's traditional textiles, and the island is a renowned producer of vanilla. Without claiming an inventory of what was sold that day, these landmarks help you picture the range a stall might hold.

For the visitor, a market has an obvious advantage: you leave with a specific object whose maker you know. It is the craft equivalent of the certificate of authenticity the gallery hands over with each artwork sold.

Live music and the coffee ceremony

The music was live, performed by Malagasy artists. Hearing musicians play in a house, between the canvases and the terrace, gives a closeness that large halls cannot offer.

At the table, the food was Ethiopian: the house's usual menu, with its dishes on injera. And the day came with a coffee ceremony. The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes. It unfolds in three rounds, Abol, Tona and Baraka, with incense and dabo bread. At Ge'eza it is offered at 5,000 F per person, and it is best booked 24 hours ahead, especially for a group. All the information is on the coffee ceremony page.

Why Madagascar, why Dakar?

Madagascar lies several thousand kilometres from Dakar, on the other side of the continent, off East Africa. Ge'eza itself comes from Ethiopia, also in East Africa. Setting African cultures in conversation, in a place that holds East and West together, is exactly the house's calling: a bridge between two Africas, one that readily extends to others.

At Ge'eza the audience tends to mix: Point E neighbours, expats, people from the diaspora.

If you missed it

"Dia Nifanena" is over. The events page and the calendar list confirmed dates, with a subscribable calendar and an .ics file. You can also write on WhatsApp at +221 78 660 07 07.

The house is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm, and closed on Mondays.

What you take away from a day like this

An event that mixes painting, a market, music and a meal asks little preparation of the visitor: you arrive, let yourself be guided, and stop wherever something catches your eye. The appeal lies in that freedom. You can spend two hours or the whole day, taste an Ethiopian dish between two stalls, and leave with a handmade object and the memory of a tune heard on the terrace.

It is also a reminder of what a private house can do that a large venue cannot: keep the scale human, so that a workshop, a stall and a musician are all within a few steps of each other.

If you are planning to attend a similar day, a few habits help: arrive in the morning when the stalls are fresh, bring small notes for purchases, and keep an hour free for a coffee at the end. Wave and Orange Money are widely used in Dakar, so check which payment methods a stall accepts before you shop.