Our story / The collector
Jesús Arrimadas
Saavedra.
A life devoted to traditional African art.
Collecting objects, studying their forms and sharing what he learned. The collection of Jesús Arrimadas Saavedra bears witness to decades of dedication: objects, photographs, texts and conversations.
01 / The beginnings
Eight years in
Côte d’Ivoire.
The story of the collection begins in Côte d’Ivoire, where Jesús lived for eight years. According to his family, this is where he began collecting traditional African art.
He later continued to expand the collection through acquisitions in France and elsewhere, alongside sustained work on classification and documentation.
These biographical details come from family testimony. The exact dates of his residence in Côte d’Ivoire have not been confirmed.
02 / The archive and the eye
A collection built
over decades.
The collection comprises thousands of catalogue entries from different cultures and object types. Alongside the objects, Jesús gathered photographs, descriptions and references that now form an archive inseparable from the collection.
His catalogue follows three paths: Royal art, Art of life and Ritual art. This classification appears both in his writings and in the Almuñécar exhibition documented in 2015.
The historical texts are preserved as part of his work and his perspective on the objects.
“Art in Africa cannot be understood without also studying the traditions, social context and beliefs of its peoples.”
Jesús Arrimadas Saavedra · written introduction to the catalogue
03 / Sharing the collection
Exhibitions and
cultural activities.
The objects have also been displayed in exhibitions and featured in educational activities. These three public sources trace that history.
Almuñécar
The Casa de la Cultura hosted an exhibition of his collection in collaboration with the municipal culture department. It was organised around Royal art, Art of life and Ritual art. The opening was preceded by his lecture “El arte en las sociedades animistas del África tradicional”.
Municipal note published by Europa Tropical ↗Granada
From 17 to 30 May, “La aventura africana de los Quti” at the Biblioteca de Andalucía brought together documents from the Fondo Kati and a selection of objects from the collection of Jesús Arrimadas Saavedra.
Memory of the UNESCO Centre of Andalusia · PDF, p. 12 ↗Mazarrón
In the catalogue “Duende africano”, published by the Universidad Popular de Mazarrón, curator Encarna Zamora Navarro thanks Jesús Arrimadas for his advice and guidance in developing the curatorial work.
Catalogue “Duende africano” · PDF, p. 13 ↗
04 / The collector’s voice
The collection,
in his own words.
His voice is part of the archive. In the Cultura Granada film, he recalls his relationship with Africa, introduces the three paths and discusses the work of documenting the collection.
Open the full recording ↗
Three moments from his account:
- His first encounter with Africa ↗
- Royal art, Art of life and Ritual art ↗
- Collecting and documenting objects ↗
Further reading: the three paths
In the excerpt from 04:45 to 05:10, he presents Royal art as the world of power, Art of life as the world of the living, and Ritual art as the world of spirits.
His written introduction to the catalogue develops this perspective and is preserved in full.
05 / Family continuity
Preserving the objects.
Preserving their history.
Today, his son manages the preservation and documentation of the collection. The original photographs, texts and references maintain the link between each object and its accompanying archive.
The collection remains open to enquiries and is entering a new chapter, with works gradually being selected for acquisition.
Documentary sources
The sources
behind this story.
The family has confirmed his eight-year residence in Côte d’Ivoire, the beginnings of the collection there, its later expansion and its continuation within the family.
The linked publications document public activities; they do not certify the authenticity or provenance of individual objects. The photographs belong to the family archive.
- Exhibition of traditional African art at the Casa de la Cultura de Almuñécar ↗
- Activity report, p. 12 · PDF
- The exhibition on the Kati Funds in the Library of Andalusia
Kati funds return to Andalusia ↗ - Duende africano, credits and acknowledgements, pp. 3 and 13 · PDF
- From Africa to Almuñécar. Jesús Arrimadas · Video source ↗
