Lionel Manga

Lionel Manga
Born	1955 Douala
Occupation	Writer, Critic,Curator
Nationality	Cameroonian

Lionel Manga is a Cameroonian writer and cultural critic based in Douala. His 2008 book, L'Ivresse du Papillon, discusses Cameroonian visual artists such as Goddy Leye, Guy Wouété and Joseph-Francis Sumégné among others.^[1]

Life and career

After studies in Cameroon and France, in December 2007 he collaborated with the French artist Philippe Mouillon and realized the work Bend Skins, a collection of life stories of 500 motorbike-taxi-drivers on the occasion of SUD Salon Urbain de Douala in December 2007.^[2] In 2015 he curated “Presences” an exhibition which focused on painting, sculpture and photography by Cameroonian artists at SCB in Douala and was featured in FACE-À-FACES, an exhibition profiling personalities from the cultural world in the salon prestige at Abidjan International Airport.

Bibliography

• L'Ivresse du Papillon, Broché, 2008.

Essays and articles

• “Douala, entre mangrove et macadam”, Politique Africaine 2005/4 (N° 100), p. 65-68.
• “Whycome Kamerun be Bass Central?”, Chimurenga 16: The Chimurenga Chronic, October 2011.
• “Midway Between Silence and Speech”, The Chimurenga Chronic, August 2013.
• “Wish You Were Here”, I'm Not Your Weekend Special:Portraits on the Life,Style & Politics of Brenda Fassie, 2014.
• "Catch le mango!", In Babina and Douala Bell (Eds), Douala in Translation. A view of the city and its creative transformative potentials, 2007, pp. 28-37.
• "Aesthetic escapades", In Babina and Douala Bell (Eds), Douala in Translation. A view of the city and its creative transformative potentials, 2007, pp. 103-109.

References