"A breath of fresh air": In Grand-Bassam, an Ivorian seaside town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a contemporary art museum opened its doors Thursday in the former "Hôtel des Postes et Douanes", a vestige of the colonial era.

Red earth bricks, large wooden windows, high ceilings: the old building with its decrepit facade has been renovated in keeping with the colonial architecture.

It is now called "La Maison de l'art", a museum resulting from a partnership between the Ivorian Ministry of Culture and the Société Générale Côte d'Ivoire Foundation.

The inaugural exhibition, entitled "Souffle", saw the participation of 28 artists from nine African countries in different arts: painting, sculpture, photography, design.

"The Maison de l'Art represents this new breath of fresh air for the preservation, transmission and promotion of our culture," declared Françoise Remarck, Ivorian Minister of Culture.

"We are doing much more than opening the doors to a space dedicated to art...where talents can express themselves freely," said Patrick Blas, president of the Société Générale Côte d'Ivoire Foundation.

"This is what we, as artists, are looking for: homes to welcome us, to receive our works, to discuss, exchange, and enrich ourselves. In fact, it's a gathering place," rejoiced Mathilde Moreau, Ivorian painter and exhibitor.

"Seeing this house of art blossom here, in my birthplace, is invigorating," adds the artist, who directed the Abidjan School of Fine Arts for nearly two decades.

The Maison de l'art consists of two permanent exhibition rooms, a temporary exhibition room, an artist's residence with studio, a café-restaurant area and meeting rooms.

Mounou Désiré Koffi, one of the rising stars of Ivorian painting, exhibited his work "La Recréation," made from used cell phone keyboards mounted on a metal grid.

"The fact that a very large museum gives us the opportunity to show our works here and internationally is very important to me," adds Mr. Koffi, welcoming the initiative in a country where there are "not many galleries," according to him.

KEYA, a Moroccan painter, is the first to be in residence at this museum.

His work is a composition with people of different ages and ethnicities, "symbolizing the Ivorian cultural heritage" that he calls for protection.

"The Maison de l'art can inspire" other examples of "restoration of heritage with real projects," he hopes.