Born in 1967 in Mbalmayo, Cameroon
Lives and works between Paris and Bandjoun Station
Barthélemy Toguo, an internationally acclaimed artist from Cameroon, works across mediums to develop a poetic visual language inspired by travel and human encounters. His practice is often autobiographical, addressing urgent themes such as exile, migration, colonial legacies, racism, disease, and religion. Toguo's art stages a dialogue between his African origins and Western realities, confronting histories of tragedy while affirming the fragility and resilience of life.
In 2017, he created Célébrations, a monumental ceramic fresco for the Château Rouge metro station in Paris, a neighborhood renowned for its rich cultural diversity. Earlier, in 1999, Toguo founded Bandjoun Station in Cameroon, a unique space that is both an artist residency and a social-economic project, designed to cultivate contemporary creativity while supporting local practices. The initiative embodies his vision of a diasporic Africa that is innovative, interconnected, and forward-looking.