From May 17 to July 30, 2023, the Galerie du 19M will host the exhibition On the edge: From Dakar to Paris, an exhibition dedicated to the invaluable craftsmanship of Senegal, already presented in Dakar at the beginning of 2023.
At a time of renewed interest in the arts and crafts sector, the exhibition brings together around thirty artists, artisans, manufacturers, and collectives working in textiles, some in collaboration with the Maisons d'Art du 19M, and combines embroidery and weaving with other activities such as painting, photography, and contemporary creation. Combining traditional knowledge with contemporary creations, the exhibition is accompanied by a program of discussions, activities, and participatory workshops.
This is the collective exhibition On the wire: from Dakar to Paris presented in Dakar, and now installed at the Galerie du 19M in Paris/Aubervilliers from May 17 to July 30, with around thirty works and installations in various media. This exhibition, which traveled from Dakar to Paris, allows visitors to Greater Paris to discover the invaluable Senegalese artisanal know-how. As in Dakar, the exhibition is accompanied by a program of workshops, activities, and meetings led by guest artisans and artists. This cultural project contributes to the promotion of crafts and manual trades, to facilitate the transmission of knowledge, and to encourage the profession of beautiful vocations among the general public, schoolchildren, students, families, and craft enthusiasts.
This group exhibition combines embroidery and weaving, two Senegalese crafts, with other contemporary artistic disciplines and creative mediums such as painting, photography and installation. It invites you on a journey through eras and territories, materials and techniques, styles and emblems, celebrating material ingenuity, revealing ingenious know-how and proving the richness of creativity that weaving and embroidery have to offer, whether in leather, wool, silk, raffia, cotton, synthetic…
The thematic tour reveals some of Senegalese know-how such as weaving and embroidery, which are thus partly completed by a section on indigo dyeing – a resolutely sustainable practice and particularly widespread in Senegal which continues to be modernized by a young generation of creators… And a zoom on Casamance, cradle of the tradition of loincloth weaving. The crafts of other Senegalese regions are also highlighted, in particular those of Saint-Louis, Cayor and Sine Saloum.
Several creations are produced specifically for the event, some in collaboration with the Maison d'art du 19M, while others are loaned by artists, public institutions, or private collectors. Some co-creation projects are a bridge between Aubervilliers and Dakar, such as the commission for two tapestries from the Manufactures Sénégalaises des Arts Décoratifs in Thiès, the project between Julian Farade and the embroiderers Ngaye Méckhé, or the collaboration between Maison Montex and the Kër Thiossane Cultural Center.
To celebrate intergenerational transmission, between tradition and the contemporary, the exhibition presents five works by five artists designated as "The Moderns," including Alioune Badiane, Viyé Diba, Kalidou Kassé, Souleymane Keita, and Abdoulaye Ndoye. Their long careers have helped shape the trajectory of Senegalese art, particularly in terms of the use of textiles in their practices.
The diversity of this program is a testament to the uninterrupted connection of the dissemination of knowledge of arts and crafts, demonstrated by the contemporary creators of Senegal invited to this meeting of "giving and receiving."
List of artists, artisans, manufacturers and collectives with works presented
Aïcha Aïdara, Khadija Ba, Alioune Badiane, Arébénor Bassène, Johanna Bramble, Khalil Ciss,é Mbali Dhlamini, Viyé Diba, Alioune Diouf, Marie-Madeleine Diouf, Julian Farade, Pauline Guerrier, Kalidou Kassé, Souleymane Keita, Alassane Koné, Benjamin Monteil, Cécile Ndiaye, Abdoulaye Ndoye, Manel Ndoye, Selly Raby Kane, Cheikha Sigil, Fatim Soumaré, Malick Welli, Aska Yamashita.
Montex Workshop, The Falè Collective, Kër Thiossane, Lemarié, Lesage, The Senegalese Manufactures of Decorative Arts of Thiès, The Embroiderers of Ngaye Méckhé, Paloma.
About the 19M Gallery
The Galerie du 19M, a place of work, meeting, and transmission, is an extraordinary architectural work designed by Rudy Ricciotti and inaugurated in January 2022, aiming to highlight the expertise of artisans and creators. The 19M is the link between Paris, the fashion capital, and the vibrant urban district of Aubervilliers, with workshops, a school, and a gallery. The Galerie du 19M is a multidisciplinary space centered on the values of artistic craftsmanship and open to all, echoing the 19M's policy of promoting technical excellence through a diverse cultural program.
Practical information
The 19M Gallery 2 place Skanderbeg 75019 Paris / Open Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 18 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 19 p.m.
Access: Metro Line 12 Popular Front / Bus Line 35 · Skanderbeg / Line 45 · Skanderbeg / Line 54 · Aubervilliers Gate / Tram Line 3b · Aubervilliers Gate / RER Line E · Rosa-Parks.
André Tirlet
