Niankoye Lama

I was born on June 8, 1954 in Palé, in the prefecture of N'Zerekore. A few years later, my father had to take me to N'Zerekore for health reasons, and in the end we stayed there permanently.

In 1962 I was sent to school at the René Soukana primary school in Kouitèyapoulou. The first day of class, not knowing how to read or write, I took out my slate and chalk bag and began to represent my childhood universe with lines that were visibly legible. So instinctively all children draw, in my case it was the start of an adventure to discover the world of shapes and colors.

Thus, before the end of CM2, my whole school recognized me. Therefore, from my early years in college the Regional Directorate of Education was quick to realize that I may be a talent that needs help. Consequently, at the start of the 1972-73 school year, being patented and, with the support of Mr. KOUROUMA, then Inspector of the Academy of Forest Guinea, later Rector of Gamal A. Nasser University, I was admitted in the entrance examination to the National School of Fine Arts in Conakry.

After a professional training of 3 years, I worked a little at the Patrice LOUMUMBA printing house. In 1979 the desire to discover the artistic world from elsewhere led me to travel. Starting with Bouaké, (Ivory Coast), where I spent 10 years, I moved to Paris in 1990. After these long years of adventure, I plan to return to my source, Guinea, to open a gallery in Conakry.