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During this residency, architects Carole Diop and Nzinga Mboup set off in search of Dakar's patrimony: they are carrying out a real investigation to produce an evolving and revised cartography through encounters and visits across the city of Dakar and its suburbs They question notions of heritage, preservation, common inheritance and collective memory.
In "1984", George Orwell imagines a society in which the leaders deny the people an accurate knowledge of their history, falsifying it to suit their political will. What would really happen to a nation deprived of its past? Just as we cannot conceive of an individual without a past, we cannot conceive of a people without a history. And the full significance of the present lies in its relationship with the past. Is a people bereft of its history still capable of thinking about its present and its future?
The Ghanaian symbol of Sankofa, representing a mythical bird moving forward with its head turned backwards, bears witness to this. It symbolizes both the wisdom that draws from the past and the lessons it teaches us to face the present and build the future.
This research explores specifically how human beings treat their built environment as heritage. But what is patrimony? And for whom? Undoubtedly, the concept of architectural heritage implies a class prism, as concerns for its preservation seem to be the prerogative of a social and intellectual elite. And yet, there are sites, songs, recipes, rituals and dances that bond us together. How is collective memory constructed? What criteria do people use to validate or invalidate what deserves to be handed down?
*vox-ARTIS is a free space for presentation, discussion and confrontation of ideas about art, its practice, production, collection, criticism, analysis and presentation. A moment of sharing around films on art, lectures by artists and other art professionals, portfolio reviews, book presentations and general debate on the role of artistic creativity in society. This program is made in collaboration with Massamba Mbaye.
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| Carole Diop photographe: Elise Fitte Duval |
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| Carole Diop is the founder of the magazine Afrikadaa. This young architect graduated from ENSAPVS and now works in Dakar where she settled after her studies. Carole Diop presides over the Afrikadaa association in Dakar, which actively participates in Senegalese cultural life, notably through its participation in the Partcours since 2015 and several participations in the Dakar Biennale. In 2018 she initiated with a fellow architect, Nzinga Mboup, Dakarmorphose, a research work focused on the genesis of the city of Dakar and its metamorphoses. For the past few years, Carole has been offering the public the opportunity to rediscover the city of Dakar through Architectural Walks, whether it be the Plateau, the Point-e or the Medina, she allows us all to reappropriate this space by knowing its history better. Today she teaches architectural history at the University College of Architecture of Dakar (CUAD) and cartography at the Pan-African Polytechnic Institute (IPP-DAKAR). Carole also represented Senegal at the World Forum of Young Architects in 2015. |
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| Nzinga Mboup © Worofila |
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Nzinga Biegueng Mboup is a Dakar-based, registered Senegalese architect who studied at the University of Pretoria and worked for two years in Johannesburg. She then continued with a Masters in Architecture at the University of Westminster in London and subsequentely worked for three years at Adjaye Associates, predominantly on the IFC headquarters in Dakar. In 2019, she co-founded Worofila an architectural practice specialized in bioclimatic design and construction using earth and biomaterials sourced locally. The aim of Worofila is to promote an architecture that is durable and in harmony with the climate. Worofila has realised various earth projects such as the Sendou home, the Ngor house and the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with Kéré Architecture.
In addition to her architectural practice, Nzinga has been a researcher for the African Futures Institute since 2022 and has co-authored two research projects. The first one called Dakarmorphose started in 2017 in collaboration with Carole Diop, is an ongoing research project on the evolution of Lebu villages and the urban and cultural heritage of the city of Dakar. Dakarmorphose was exhibited at the Dakar Art Biennale of 2018 and 2022 and has informed various papers and conferences. The second research project called Habiter Dakar, started in 2019 in collaboration with Caroline Geffriaud and the Goethe-institut Dakar, focusing on the evolution and problematics of housing in Dakar.
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| Massamba Mbaye |
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| Massamba Mbaye is an art critic, curator and consultant. He is a historian of communication theories and has specialised in cybernetics. This graduate in strategic marketing and communication teaches these specialties. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). Mbaye is the current Managing Director of the DMedia Group. He was a member of the editorial committee of Afrik'Arts, an international magazine on visual arts published by the Dakar Biennale and has been coordinating the communication of Dak'art since 2016. He is also a member of the Dak'art Orientation Committee and is the author of several books on the visual arts in Senegal. |
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