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NORDICDOGS – - – - – - – - – - – - – -MOZAMBIQUE

March 8, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  Comments Closed

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY IN MAPUTO

The panel (from left) Paulina Chiziane, Rachel Uziel, Conceição Evaristo and Mia Couto

The International Womens Day was celebrated here in Maputo with various happenings. I went to a very inspiring evening in the French-Mozambican Culture Center, a very active place close to my home that very often runs all kinds of  events from rock concerts to cultural dialogues and childrens events. In the auditorium there was a panel dialogue about the theme “Women and Borders” (Mulhiers e Frontiers). The dialogue was something to celebrate in my memory. Great guests, three grand ladies, Conceição Evaristo, Rachel Uziel and Paulina Chiziane.

The Brazilian writer Conceição Evaristo, has published short stories and poetry in Cadernos Negros. She lives in Rio de Janeiro. It was very interesting to listen to her describe her upbringing as a black Brazilian and how her introduction to literature was in the beginning only verbal. She spoke of her black colour as her first border that she has all through her life had to cross.

The Jewish professor of literature Rachel Uziel, spoke of her upbringing as a Bulgarian, the experiences of her family during the Nazi regime and the World War. Then her move to Israel and further passing of boundaries from one culture to an other. Her dialogue was interspersed with great short songs and inspiring exclamations.

Paulina Chiziane is a Mozambican writer who writes novels and short stories in Portugese. She is the writer of the first book that I bought by a Mozambican writer. I am still struggling of course with the language but enjoyed it. She was the first woman in Mozambique to publish a novel. Her writing has generated some polemical discussions about social issues, such as the practice of polygamy in the country. I did really like her talk, she got very enthusiastic applause after talking about passing the borders from being black woman, from living under white rule when she said that the whole black nation was really in the condition of being women. She spoke of how the new nation was established in the Seventies and how women did not participate in the writing of the constitution and other fundamental texts of the nation.

The Mozambican writer Mia Couto is considered one of the leading writers here in Mozambique. Though he writes in Portuguese, Couto has tried to forge a new literary style that blends the European language with the rich oral traditions of the country’s indigenous Bantu and Swahili speakers. Mia was a kind of a panel director, giving comments and bringing up questions to the three great ladies.

From the exhibition “Women and Borders”

After there was an opening of a photo exhibition in the culture centre: The photos were the selected results from a photo competition that was held to the same theme “Women and Frontiers”.

From the presentation of the exhibition and the handing out of the prizes for the best photographs.

March 8, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  Comments Closed

VISUAL ARTS AND DESIGN IN ISAC

Sóley designed this banner last August when the panic for the start of ISAC was in full swing. The use of the squares is actually based on the African mask or shield pattern where there are squares formed by bamboo or straw construction. The leaders for the establishment of ISAC at that time were also rather uncomfortable about the use of the name ISAC since it is actually from the Bible and has none African or local links. Therefore I asked Sóley to make the banner in the way that it would be difficult to read ISAC. Of course we use the term all the time in daily parlance. Here are happy people, Karina ponts to her responsibility: Design and Maimuna points to hers: Visual Arts. Gabriel, a great addition to our team of design teachers, stands by. He is a graphic designer from Brazil. I just had to put this picture in, since it is so cheerful.

March 7, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Design  Comments Closed

ONE YEAR IN MOÇAMBIQUE

Now, one year has passed since I moved to live permanently in Maputo. Many things have happened in that year. There have been revelations beyond any of my expectations, ups and downs. For one thing, it is the fifth country I live in with the fifth language and it has been lots of work really to learn Portugese. Now I enjoy converstations in the language, of course I am not capable of the fluent philosophical rhetoric that is so common in academic debates but I get by and have given lectures in Portugese and participate in debates. Actually my first teaching ever took place in the early Eightiees in Italian and at the time it was lots of work to prepare them. My sketch-book from the time is full of hints and basic words. But interestingly, the academic language is quite international, usually based on Latin terms that point similar terms to concepts and ideas. But the pronouciation is very different. My feeling is that Portugese culture (and the academic culture here is quite Portugese) uses language similar to how the French coduct their dialogue. My hunch is that the Italian dialogue is more crisp. But this is just my hunch with no research other than living it.

I came here to Maputo with great expectations, both personally and in terms of what I could manage get done. I had been here for a visit before and been in dialogue with the people in the visual art school ENAV. But, before I came, I had prepared me for the fact that not all would become the success I would like. I wanted to make sure that I should always remember to be thankful for whatever would come out of this personal and cultural experiment. My first premise was and still is that there are in a sense too many designers in Europe and too few here. The consequence was then for me that I should go here, where there are very (repeat very) few designers. To help set up the design higher education here is therefore worth it I hope.

I want to admit here that things have happened that I did not expect at all and quite a lot of my energy has gone into adjusting to the totally different cultural and personal platform than I expected. But at the same time it is certain now that so many great and positive things have come to place and there is such great future for the activities that I hve wanted to participate in. I am not going to go into accounting here about what has come to place, but to be allowed to participate in the establishment of a new school of art and design makes me really thankful. The last (and first) semester in ISAC was a joy every week with great students and projects producing really fun discussions and results.

I feel that the decision that has now come into being that the Norwegian Government is going to support a project that has as it main aim to transfer knowledge between these two very different cultures and commercial and industrial conditions is fantastic. I am also convinced that this project would not have come about if I had not moved here and used my personal time to develop it. I of course hope that other governments in our Northern region join our program with some activity, sending teachers, students and inviting members of ISAC to their institutes to participate in design development. It is a fact that the Nordic Region is quite a powerhouse in design and some of that experince can be disseminated to this African-Australis region.

I am going to enjoy the next year very differently than the past one and really am eager to make tangible activities take place. I am looking forward to the time when more designers, friends, students and fellow teachers at home start coming south to participate with us. There are very interesting conditions here, incredible energy and belief in a future. Of course it stimulates progress, some of which I am not so keen on. Having seen what that kind of progress has done to my society in the north. But by participating I like to highlight some of the negative things that have come from the progress that I have lived at home in my life since the Fifties.

March 6, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  Comments Closed

PORTUGESE MINISTER OF CULTURE VISITS ISAC

Pocession on the campus, where Madame Canavilhas hopefully managed to understand slightly our conditions. Students and teachers welcomed her dearly

Now that the second semester is soon starting in ISAC, things are really coming to place. It is great to have a bunch of new teachers after only the four of us ran the running of last semester as a pilot for both studets and teachers. As I have reported, we have had days for professors, symposium to discuss philosophy and strategy. All very motivational while mails, papers and meetings go back and forth about the nitty gritty of rooms, credits, hours, workload, internet access, software etc. etc. Great stress and great optimism and lots of communication cross, direct and backfiring.

A plenum discussion about what happens now, after the school is properly in place.

The opening hour for the coming semester is the 10th of March at 10:00 and we pretend that everything will be properly ready. On the 4th of March ISAC received a formal visit from the Minister of Culture from Portugal. She was in town because of some big conference about Portugese culture etc. A very sympathetic lady (as usually is the case with ministers of culture). There was polite and very postitive conversation among teachers and leaders with her about the common heritage of Portugal and Mozambique, the Identidates Pan-Portugese speaking cultural network (see link) and many future collaborations that can take place within the field of culture. The director of ISAC, Filimone, spoke of how the small seeds of art, design and culture management education that we are starting now is just a beginning of a larger all-encompassing academy with dance, theater, music and many other possibilities.

Filimone and Madame Canavilhas. Images from the student activities last semester were posted on the wall for further information.

It is actually great to have such visits because it helps motivate us and open up eyes to further victories than just making sure the school runs properly, but we must admit that is really on everyones mind these days.

March 5, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Design  No Comments

Filimone Meigos, the director of ISAC turns a corner

The flamboyant director of our new academy here in Maputo decided to become 50 on the 4th of March, the day the Portugese Minister of Culture Madame Canavilhas came for her formal visit to this institute with a great and promising future. Filimone is never want for words and responded to the small fest arranged by his co-workers. Here are some images.

Smoke and chat break outside the library. The banner designed by Soley in the background

March 5, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  Comments Closed

COSTA DO SOL

The crowd by the sea on a weekend afternoon

Maputo has its own ‘Sunset Bouleward’ although it is actually ‘Sunrise Bouleward’ a long beautiful road along the coastline of Maputo, generally named Costa do Sol. It is facing the Indian Ocean where the sun rises in the East. On weekends it is very difficult to travel there because people like to cruse slowly in their cars, walk and generally do a modern Promenade. All along sit ladies with plastic cooling boxes full of beer and ice cubes to sell to us the strollers. It is also great to buy cheap locally barbequed chicken (the name of Frango) with French Frieds. We went on Saturday to chill and enjoy the local fun by the sea. The sea is very brown, not totally because of man made pollution but from all the material brought forward by the grand rivers that arrive at the sea and accommodate Maputo Harbour.

The kids love playing in the waves!

March 3, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  Comments Closed

DESIGN PROGRAM IN ISAC, SEMESTER START SOON

The campus has very nice areas, here the teachers are walking between buildings

The design teachers in ISAC are a small hardcore group with very good working spirit. Helder, Gabriel and Karina met in my house today to go through the program named: INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN. It is good to have run the first semester last year, before Christmas and summer holiday (named: Semester Zero), beacause we managed to get lots of experience about the procedure of the teaching. It is good to be able to evaluate the response of the students to the various projects and the landscape that the new school shall thrive in. There will be run some basic courses that will be common, like History of Art, Methodologies etc, like in all art and design schools. But the hardcore design teachers have to concentrate on the fundamental issues about being a designer. We will have in ISAC a program for design supporting people to go in three directions basically: Product Design, Visual Communication and Fashion Design.

A walk on the main pedestrian spine on campus

Of course, like in all art academies, certain parts of the program will be done in cooperation with the other two specializations: Visual Arts and Culture Management. Since different designers have many common elements in their procedures (future scenarios, problem definitions etc) part of the design education program is also going to be run in common projects where the different specializations can address the projects in their own manner.

After the meeting we have a structure of the chronological progression of a design student from beginning until the end of 3rd year (not all projects though written) with the timeline dispersed with realiztic project and theoretical input with occasional intensive periods, like when guest teachers and fellow students from the Norwegial school (and hopefully others) will come here to work on common projects together.

On Friday we went for a walkabout on the ISAC campus so that all the new teachers could see the facilities and think of how to utilize and what extra is needed at this early stage. The photos show this very nice event.

Looking over one of the classrooms. The government suppliers (I think) miscalculated the size of the students and the tables are for kindergarten. But we will manage, no problem.

February 28, 2010  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Design  No Comments

BULLFIGHTING ARENA IN MAPUTO

The entrance side of the stadium

In our minds Bullfighting has always been predominantly a Spanish sport. But it is also Portugese and of course then South-American. Since Mozambique was a Portugese colony from since colonies were invented (and this is obvious everywhere today in Modern Mozambican society) they also brought with them Portugese Bullfighting. There is one discarded Bullfighting ring here in Maputo and I am told there is an other in Pemba in the North. Because of my curiousity I went to look at the stadium here, it is close to supermarkets and local market. It is in a terribly dilappidated state as can be seen from the photos, and the one who has responsibility to look after it has rented our spaces in it. Almost all of them are garages and car parts sales. There is a sublime beauty in the activity of men fixing cars and a grand concrete stadium.

All around are the traditional market stalls, where one can buy the household groceries, vedgetables, salt and rice and sugar.

Portugese style bullfighting is somewhat different to the best known Spanish. There is a horseman (rider) dressed in traditional 18th century costumes and he fights the bull from horseback. The horses are specially trained for the fights and often have skills in dressage and many exhibit that in the arena. The purpose of this fight is to stab three or four bandarilhas in the back of the bull. Then forcadors are a group of eight men who challenge the bull directly, without any protection or weapon of defense. The front man provokes the bull into a charge to perform a pega de cara or pega de caras (face catch). The front man secures the animal’s head and is quickly aided by his fellows who surround and secure the animal until he is subdued. Forcados were usually people from lower classes who, to this day, practice their art through amateur associations.

February 27, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: PONDERINGS  No Comments

TWO TYPES OF DIALOGUES ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE: ISAC

On day two of the week, full house listening to philosophy and visions

I am fine with understanding Portugese when we are in normal conversation, in shops etc. and I have given talks and lectures in the language, using PowerPoint for support. When the dialogue moves over to philosophical concepts and strategy, I must admit that I get a bit lost and make up my own interpretations. I do in a way create a personal fiction stimulated by what I hear. But it so happens that my first main education took place in Italian, so the terms are often similar. This blog is a reflection from sitting in a symposium in ISAC for a whole week, where the dialogue has been about a new school. The symposium was about what an art and design academy is and how to map the landscape that this school is being created in. Discussions all the way from copy machines to the post-modern condition and African culture. Very interesting reflections came up about how an establishment of a traditional art and design academy (in the model of Western tradition) is reflected or complimented in an African culture, that is really a cooking pot of latin colonialism (Portugal), Arab culture (they have been here for more than 1000 years) and the cooperation between local art with imported Western art. Professor Severino Ngoenha gave a talk named Post-Modernism and aesthetics. Great to listen afterwards to the dialogue about the mix, for example of traditional local dance (a fundamental strength here in Mozambique) and Western dance tradition. Something that I have really been wondering about when seeing celebrations of workshops where Northern people and local people create projects together. I still am not sure of what I think about it. Could it be a dance between the rich and the poor, and maybe the poor only dances because the others pay. I am going to think about this more when I see more.

The dialogue did actually go this way: questions about acceptance of Post-Modernism (in brackets from me Western Capitalistic driven aesthetics) without some strong ethical platform to base the academic philosopy on. These preoccupations are exactly the same as mine.

On the second day Dr. Emília Afonso gave a presentation about pedagocal methodology in universities, maintaining what I have also always meant that experience and tacit activity in the workshop is fundamental to the teaching of art. But she also maintained that similar principles are similarly valid in other specializations, like medicine etc.

Many speakers were invited and most of the new professors and leaders gave their opinions, but I am not going to list all the names here.

Part of the group planning the design and art faculty

At last on the final day of the symposium people got down to the nitty gritty work of planning practical issues for the second semester that is going to be run. Rooms, who of the new teachers is taking responsibility for the courses that are written in the original document. This document has been in development during the last 3 years, I received it ca 2 years ago and gave my comments. It is now in a way fixed, like all ‘study plans’ – but of course has landed in immediate redevelopment like all study plans. It is of course  true that institues develope strengths based on (a) the people that they are able to recruit, (b) location and culture and (c) political and economic conditions.

The students and teachers of ISAC were asked to come up with a proposal for a logo for the school. It is interesting how a discussion about a logo can be a tool for creating a common understanding of what the institute is. Therefore the proposals and the dialogue were very important for a group of people that are creating a new society with a common goal. Teachers, administration and students. The dialogue lifted almost all the issues that were spoken during the first days of the symposium, spoken by philosophers, professors, outside mentors and cultural experts. A discussion about a simple graphic image is sometimes more complete and on a more common level than dialogue about isms and future scenarios. It includes all!

A planning photo. Maimuna and the tables with visual arts and design programs with credit counting etc.

February 22, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Design  Comments Closed