Invited by Ghost Creative Productions, the Portuguese Embassy in Senegal and the Public Institution Camões, Colectivo Warehouse integrated a team of artists for the realization of an Arts and Ecology festival at Licée Galandou Diouf, a public school in the center of Dakar.

The project’s main objective was to awaken the young students and the entire school community to environmental awareness through Art. The ÉcoL’Art Festival created a platform for intercultural dialogue between Senegalese and Portuguese artists.

 

Thus, through its first edition, continued work between partner institutions and the local community will proceed in the search for answers to the environmental challenges and problems we are currently facing around the world. 

During two weeks in residence, Colectivo Warehouse developed a project in the Library and its surrounding area in parallel with other Portuguese artists invited, among them Pantónio, Mariana Malhão and Robert Panda, created artworks in several places of the School.

Starting by redesigning the interior layout of the existing library, the primary objective was to introduce students to architectural tools. From that point on, the conditions were created for us to satart working with a group off kids and codesigning a “new” library, a new space for reading and studying made with, and for, the students.

Through the a collection of local wood waste/scraps, the school students were able to create and build a whole new structure based on circular economy. This structure is built from a small auditorium, nestled by the adjacent tree, where children can have their own “private” space in the school playground.

The artists worked together with the students through workshops, seeking inclusion and participation of the school community in the produced artwork.

On the day of the Festival, there were itinerant exhibitions, artistic installations, murals, as well as a series of activities, film screenings, stalls selling handicrafts, local associations promoting their work for the protection of the environment, and also concerts by Davide Rodrigues and Lavoisier.

Team: Colectivo Warehouse
Promoters: Ghost Productions, Embassy of Portugal in Senegal, Camões I.P. Seminar on Cooperation, Culture and Language
With: Sebastião de Botton, Rúben Teodoro
Collaborators: Luís Alcatrão, Miguel C Tavares, Khalifa Diallo, Aïscha, Maïssa, El-Haj Dian, Mohammed, Ndeye, Hubert, Fatou, Jean-Pierre, Nani, Nacia