The New Museum describes Raw Material Company founded by Koyo Kouoh:
In a conversation with Ocula magazine Ms Kouoh describes its intent:...as a center for art, knowledge, and society established in Dakar in 2008. It is an art initiative unfolding within the realms of exhibition making, commissioning, knowledge sharing, and archiving of theory and criticism. It works to foster appreciation for and growth of African artistic and intellectual creativity. The underlying rationale of its program is the firm belief in visual arts as a potent tool capable of shifting views and igniting engagement in art practice as a viable path for social and political transformation. The program is trans-disciplinary and is equally informed by urbanity, literature, film, architecture, politics, fashion, cuisine, and diaspora.
Since its physical establishment, Raw Material Company has applied a range of diverse formats of mediating art through social and political thought. Curated programs have looked at the relationship between development and natural resources in Africa (George Osodi's Oil Rich Niger Delta and Olafur Eliasson's Little Sun), migration (Faites comme chez vous, Boulevard du Centennaire, Absence), video as an artistic practice (Project 35), collaborations and production among independent art spaces (Making Douala, Symposium Condition Report), African identity (United States of Africa, Hollandaise) and politics of democracy (Chronicle of a Revolt). All these exhibitions were accompanied by residencies for the participating artists and curators as well as critical publications.
In 2014, we are running a program on personal liberties, with an emphasis on sexuality and freedom of expression. It is a series of activities that include exhibitions, seminars and a final publication. Our program is generally well received if one measures it by the number of artists and related professionals who want to collaborate with us. Even though we are sometimes critiqued as being politically and curatorially too challenging. But we take it as a compliment and encouragement to continue on this path because it means that our work is moving something.