Biography

Alyssa K. Barry is a Senegalese architect and urbanist specialising in African cultural heritage. After working for several years in the Africa Unit of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in Paris, she moved to Dakar in 2022 and founded AKB HERITAGE in 2024, a firm specialising in consultancy and cultural engineering in the field of cultural heritage from Africa and its diasporas. She works with institutions such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, EPA, Expertise France and the BHS Foundation to preserve, promote and enhance cultural heritage across Africa and beyond. Her work includes the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, capacity-building for professionals and communities (especially young people) and the valorization of African museums.

She was the coordinator of ICOMOS EPWG Africa (Emerging Professionals Working Group for Africa) from 2022 to 2024, and has been Secretary General of ICOM Senegal since 2024. In 2018, she founded AFREAKART, a digital platform dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art from Africa and its diasporas.

Alyssa is also involved in teaching and research. She teaches architectural heritage at the CUAD (Collège Universitaire d'Architecture de Dakar) and is preparing a PhD at the URICA laboratory of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. Her research focuses on the artistic heritage of independence in West Africa.

Her career combines technical expertise, cultural commitment and a passion for transmission, making her a key figure in the field of African cultural heritage.

©AlyssaBarry / 03.12.2025