Sindika Dokolo

Born in Kinshasa in 1972, Sindika was brought up in Belgium and France by parents Augustin Dokolo, a bank owner, millionaire, and collector of African arts,[4] and his Danish wife Hanne Kruse.[5] Sindika graduated from the Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Paris, and later studied economics, commerce and foreign languages at the Pierre and Marie Curie University.[6]

In 2002, he married Isabel dos Santos, the eldest daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, former President of Angola.[7] As of 2020, he and his wife were under investigation for obtaining their wealth by corrupt means, allegations which they denied.[8]

Through his father's initiative, Dokolo started an arts collection at the age of 15. During an interview with Angolan television network TPA, he said his parents liked art to begin with: his mother took him to visit all the museums in Europe and his father was a great collector of classical African art.[9] His father decided to return to Zaire to join the large family business – in total 17 companies (banking, breeding, fishing, coffee exportation, real estate, consumer goods distributor, merchandise conveyance, printing, insurance, mining, and the selling of automobiles).[10] The country collapsed and their activity couldn't survive. Later, these family businesses were nationalized by the Government of Zaire in 1986 under President Mobutu Sese Seko.[4] Dokolo later started the Sindika Dokolo Foundation[11] to promote numerous arts and culture festivals at home and abroad. Its mission is to create a display center for contemporary and other African art in Luanda, and also to create the conditions and activities which are necessary to integrate African artists in the international circles of the art world.[12] Dokolo stated that his connection to the arts is not intended to be recognized as a great collector, but rather "to present African artists to the world".[13] The Foundation follows the principle of freely lending its pieces to any international museum as long as that museum presents the same exhibition in an African country.[14]

Dokolo started expositions like the SD Observatorio (July 2006 – August 2006) at the Valencia Institute of Modern Art, the Trienal de Luanda (December 2006 – March 2007), or the Check List Luanda Pop (June 2007 – November 2007) at the 52nd Venice Biennale. When the German collector Hans Bogatzke died, the curator Fernando Alvim suggested to Sindika Dokolo that he buy the 500 piece collection. The collection was secured for a low price because Hans Bogatzke's widow, despite loving her husband, didn't want the responsibility and was pleased knowing it would be shown in Africa.[15] On 25 January 2010, he organized a huge exposition for Luanda's 434th anniversary called Luanda Suave e Frenética, with many artists reflecting in various ways about a "vibrant and smooth" city.[16]

In December 2013, Dokolo attended the opening of the VII Biennial of São Tomé and Príncipe, international art exhibition in the country, where the art works of Sindika Dokolo Foundation were presented.[17] In an interview with Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios, the art collector talked about his collection, arguing that "the added value of contemporary African art scene is to give a sensible and intelligent perspective of a continent that is constantly on the move," aspects that will, in his opinion, project the African continent in the future.[18]

Dokolo took part in the October 2014 1:54 contemporary African art, held in London with the participation of many well-known personalities, including Lupita Nyong'o. At this event, a number of artists and celebrities, such as the model Alek Wek or singer Keziah Jones, publicly expressed their support and appreciation for the work of the collector, highlighting the role that Sindika Dokolo Foundation has played in the development of contemporary African art. On the sidelines of this participation, Sindika Dokolo told New African[19] about his projects for Angola and how "contemporary African art should be accessible to African and impact their lives."[20]

In March 2015, Dokolo was awarded the Medal of Merit by the city of Oporto, with regard to the contemporary art exhibition You Love Me, You Love Me Not.[21][22] This honor is the city recognition of the contribution of Sindika Dokolo, which allowed the city of Oporto to develop one of the most relevant projects within the contemporary art of today, helping to establish a "natural bridge" between the city and the world.[23] The exhibition features works from the art collector's collection and brings together fifty artists (not all Africans).[24][14] This is the most important exhibition of the collection of Sindika Dokolo Foundation ever achieved and it is considered the largest existing African art collection.[25][26]

In January 2016, the Sindika Dokolo Foundation strengthened its ties with Portugal[27] by choosing Oporto to house its European headquarters.[28] Located on Casa Manoel de Oliveira building, the new headquarters will become a place to "promote artistic thinking networks and strengthen ties between Portugal and Angola, as well as Europe and Africa, celebrating art as an unifying element for people and nations," said Dokolo.[29][30]

Dokolo launched a worldwide campaign to force Western museums, art dealers and auction houses to return Africa's art. "Works that used to be clearly in African museums must absolutely return to Africa," said Dokolo.[31][32] In addition to collecting works of art, the collector was dedicated to "recovering the stolen pieces during the colonial era", a mission accomplished with the help of an international team.[33][34]

In an interview with Jeune Afrique magazine, Dokolo revealed his ambition to "build the most beautiful collection of classical art in the world". The art collector also believed that "the great challenge of contemporary African art is to be able to establish the connection and assume the role of depositary of this exceptional phenomenon that was classic [African] art. Not only for what was produced, but also for the place of art in society, and that is how we define artists and works, how we live art."[33][34][35]

A resident of Luanda since 1999, Dokolo was a businessman and the president of Sindika Dokolo Foundation.[11] He was a member of the board of the Angolan cement company Nova Cimangola.[36] He was also a member of the board of Amorim Energia that owns a third of Portuguese petrol company Galp through the company Esperanza Holding BV.[37]

In 2020, leaked documents indicated that Dokolo had made millions from a suspiciously one-sided partnership with the Angolan state diamond company, Sodiam, to buy a stake in Swiss luxury jeweller De Grisogono.[38]

Dokolo had also invested in various sectors, including diamonds, oil, real estate, and telecommunications, in Angola, Portugal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Mozambique. In an interview with Jeune Afrique, he stated that his aim was not "to build a large integrated group", but rather to have the opportunity to see "Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo as a complementary complement" – "a Luanda–Kinshasa axis that could create a counterweight to South African supremacy".[34] [39]

On 10 August 2017 Sindika Dokolo founded the movement Les Congolais Debout, which opposed DRC President Joseph Kabila's continued stay in power beyond the two terms set down in the 2006 constitution.[40]

• Sindika Dokolo Foundation
• The Dokolo Family
• Les Congolais DEBOUT