2026 Speakers

Born and raised in Senegal, Oumy Diaw is a scientifically trained alumna, also holding a BA in Finance from INSEEC Paris. She pursued further studies in American films business and finance at UCLA. A pioneer in the luxury sector, she created the concept and title Champagne Sommelier in 2002, introducing a new narrative and methodology in the wine trade and stewarding syllabus. Officially registered in the United States in 2009, her concept became an agency and her signature trademark, earning recognition by The New York Times, Crain’s Business, and Bloomberg. In 2016, she founded Communiqué C.P.W., a cultural strategy and communication agency dedicated to African contemporary art. From 2016 to 2019, she led the international communication for the Dakar Biennale. A journalist, editor, and photographer, she founded CMK Art Guide, pioneering the first luxury art guide for buyers and using photography as a tool for reading and interpreting artworks. She was among the international contributors to African Artists: From 1882 to Now (Phaidon, 2021) and served as Head of Communications for the Museum of Black Civilizations in Senegal (2018-2021). In 2022, she created her curatorial production platforms The African Imaginary, Off the Channel and Buy Art African Contemporary Art (BAACA).