The archive has acquired seven original silver-gelatin photographs made by Robert “Bob” Van Laere at the First World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar in 1966.
The group includes Marpessa Dawn, two Brazilian delegation or performance subjects, three Ivorian music and dance subjects and one Togolese dance subject. Photographer stamps and working annotations on the versos identify the prints as elements of a professional working archive rather than later commemorative reproductions.
The photographs add a documentary position distinct from the official exhibition catalogue, the IFAN festival issue and later published photographic reception. They preserve the festival through repeated acts of looking, captioning, identification and potential circulation.