inspiration
The busy city of Dakar is a place full of contrasts, with a painful colonial history, and at the same time has a growing young generation with an abundance of energy for the future. Art and culture can be found everywhere in the city and that makes it an interesting place for this lab week, which took place in the context of the Dak’Art Biennale. The programme consisted of the presentation of everyone’s project, visits to the Dak’Art Biennale and various design institutions (including Black Rock Residency, Dakar Design Hub and RAW Material Company), workshops by local designers (including industrial designer Bibi Seck and architect Fadiyah Diene), a visit to the colonial-historically important island of Gorée, and a meeting with the Dutch ambassador Joan Wiegman. At the same time, the 4 mentors gave the participants personal feedback on their projects and organized daily reflection, or ‘imbizo’ sessions. There were many conversations about the contribution of design to decolonization and the creation of more sustainable and inclusive cities and societies. These are themes that connect seamlessly to the bienniale’s theme Ndaffa, Forger / Out of the fire’ which focuses on shaping a new way of thinking rooted in African cultures, experiences and stories.
