Heritage, innovation, and climate resilience in West Africa
Côte d’Ivoire, known for its vibrant music scene, diverse ethnic cultures, and dynamic urban centers like Abidjan, is also one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa and coffee. This agricultural success comes with ecological challenges: deforestation, soil depletion, plastic waste, and climate change. Amid these pressures, Ivorian artists and cultural groups are embracing sustainability in the arts, blending traditional heritage with eco-innovation. From recycled art in Abidjan to rural craft cooperatives and climate-themed music, Côte d’Ivoire’s arts sector is emerging as a voice for ecological resilience and community empowerment.
Côte d’Ivoire’s cultural heritage has long been tied to ecological practices:
Mask-making & sculpture: The Baoulé, Senufo, Dan, and Guro peoples are renowned for wooden masks and statues carved from local timber, symbolizing spirits, animals, and ancestral wisdom.
Textiles & weaving: Kente and Baule cloth weaving use cotton and natural dyes, reflecting sustainable and artisanal traditions.
Pottery & crafts: Clay vessels and raffia-based crafts demonstrate eco-friendly, functional artistry.
Music & instruments: Traditional instruments such as the balafon, kora, and drums are made from gourds, wood, and skins, linking music to natural resources.
Oral traditions: Griots and storytellers embed ecological wisdom and respect for farming, forests, and rivers into their narratives.
These ancestral practices form the cultural foundation for eco-arts today.
Abidjan, the cultural capital, has become a hub for recycled art. Artists transform discarded plastics, metals, and electronic waste into murals, sculptures, and furniture, addressing urban pollution while beautifying public spaces.
Ivorian designers are reimagining woven textiles, batik, and indigo cloth with natural dyes and upcycled fabrics, positioning Abidjan as part of Africa’s slow fashion movement.
Côte d’Ivoire’s music industry — from coupé-décalé and zouglou to reggae and Afrobeat — is increasingly addressing themes of deforestation, waste, and social change. Musicians use their popularity to mobilize communities around ecological issues.
Community theatre and contemporary dance companies explore themes of climate adaptation, urban waste, and sustainable farming, creating accessible art for awareness.
Events like the MASA Festival (Marché des Arts du Spectacle d’Abidjan) and street art gatherings now feature eco-art installations, recycled crafts, and performances with environmental messages.
Aboudia – internationally known Ivorian artist, whose expressive urban paintings often include themes of chaos, consumption, and survival.
Recycling collectives in Abidjan – youth-led groups creating murals and installations from plastic and metal waste.
Zouglou musicians – embedding social and environmental issues in popular music.
Women’s weaving cooperatives – producing eco-textiles and crafts from raffia, cotton, and local fibers.
MASA Festival – showcasing contemporary performance arts with growing attention to sustainability themes.
Deforestation, especially linked to cocoa farming, reduces natural resources for crafts.
Urban waste crisis, particularly plastic pollution in Abidjan.
Economic pressures, making eco-materials harder to access than cheap imports.
Limited cultural infrastructure outside urban centers.
Eco-tourism & crafts: Linking eco-art with heritage tourism could strengthen both culture and conservation.
Youth education: Eco-art workshops in schools and cultural centers could foster climate-conscious creativity.
Regional collaboration: Côte d’Ivoire could lead West African eco-arts exchanges, connecting with Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria.
International visibility: With artists like Aboudia already on the global stage, Ivorian eco-art has strong potential for international expansion.
In Côte d’Ivoire, sustainability in the arts is both a revival of heritage and a tool for modern resilience. From recycled murals in Abidjan to Baoulé weaving and climate-conscious music, Ivorian artists are transforming ecological challenges into cultural opportunity and awareness. As the nation confronts deforestation and climate change, the arts are proving to be not only a source of identity and pride but also a pathway to sustainable futures.