ART AND DESIGN HELP IN AFRICA
In 2008 Leonard Shapiro met Italian artist Andrea Mariconti while in Milan and discussed the idea of holding an art workshop for vulnerable children in Cape Town, South Africa. Leonard has an organisation called
‘CRAFTSOUTHAFRICA‘.
In 2009 Leonard organized the first workshop with kids in Gugulethu with Andrea facilitating the workshop. This is what is happening all over Africa and actually over the world where people are eager to participate and introduce technical knowledge of some sort to make life more possible for young (and older) people. 19 children participated in the first workshop and after they displayed 38 artworks in a gallery in Woodstock and all of them were sold providing an income for the newly professional artists.
July 19, 2011
Tags: art, cape town, DESIGN, south africa, workshop Posted in: AFRICA, ART, DESIGN 
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THE FIRST TEST RUN SAUNA IN OUR SCHOOL IN EAST ICELAND
Here on the photo is the area where the sauna is being erected and the ceremonial area for burning and thinking and communicating. The location is very close to our building and is on the other side of the fjord from the main town.
Tonight is the first official test of the new sauna that we have been progressing in the new art and design school in East Iceland. The great amazing students and teachers have been working hard on this and the test run is tonight with all the ceremonies.
This is the fundamental holder of ancient knowledge about living and dealing with the simplicity of doing, using and coming and leaving. All is actually design thinking really although we do not have to call it design. No worry. It is about understaning how to deal with our living and how to improve living conditions. Unfortunately very much of this tradition and dealing methods disappeared with Christianity and it takes years and decades to find again the wais to deal with survival, creativity and the future. This is what we are doing in our new design school in Seyðisfjörður in the factory.
I could go on about this forever but this time I just want to put one photo and little news about our efforts and how design can be worked differently and found from other angles than Christianity, Mathematics and Commercialism.
The workshop is held by the Icelandic Design School in Reykjavik (LHÍ) and the Norwegian Design School in Oslo (KHiO). Participants are selected by us and come from different countries and cultures and knowledges. The list of them this year are these. The work has been very hard but the results are good. All will be published in a small booklet that is part of our program. The event is linked to the Lunga Festival that has this website. We, me and Goddur feel honored to be part of this event and working with all these great people. And especially thankful to the two brothers that provide the facilities and support with work and finance.
The two brothers Sigurbergur Sigurdsson and Thorgeir Sigurdsson, the owners of the facilities and supporters of this Icelandic extra design academy. Great co-workers and supporters of progressive work. Looking forward to continuing our cooperation over the coming years with students and partners from all over the world.
The sauna on location waiting for the first evening event. It takes 5-6 hours the whole ritual and looks at the past, how things are situated, and proposals for the future. How to deal with living and the environment. A great experience in every sense and I love them.
July 16, 2011
Tags: art, DESIGN, east iceland, sustainability Posted in: ARCHITECTURE, ART, DESIGN, FASHION, ICELAND, SUSTAINABILITY Comments Closed
TOWN SQUARE IN REYKJAVIK – SUMMER JOB
Great activity going on during day one of the market, agricultural products, design proposals, clothes and many other things for sale. Great to see the effort of all the people.
Hard working Art school (or ex art school) students changing the environment in Reykjavik centre. Wonderful work to follow and see how they interact with the locals while changing the environment and providing opportunities for new actions.
The town square in almost centre of Reykjavik. The location is an old friend of mine since my father used to hang out in one of the cafes in the 50′s with the other socialist workers planning a better world and anti capitalism. Wonderful times with local strange people, actors, writers and artists.
A nice album of photos of action while the workshop and action takes place.
The young architects and designers in Reykjavik are making some effortive changes to an area in the downtown area. They suggest that they want to connect historical references to current day needs and behaviour.
They want to refer to the history of the town square named Óðinstorg as a market place, suggesting market events and cultural activity. There are architectural and programmatic proposals. It will be fun to follow what they are up to and how the effects will influence us that live in the close region. To me it will at least be fun, I walk through there every day, often many times per day. Great ex students from our Academy of Art in Reykjavik.
Here is the Cafe that is in the square that we use all the time and that gives us spirit to continue!! C is for Cookie Reykjavík. Just click on it to see the things you can get and the recommendation for the great espresso!
July 16, 2011
Posted in: ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, FASHION, ICELAND, SUSTAINABILITY Comments Closed
AFTUR MEANS ‘AGAIN’ A SIGNIFICANT NAME FOR FASHION!
Recycle or Die says their web statement. The wonderful sisters from Neskaupsstaður a small town in Iceland that last week ran a hard core death metal music festival.
The best fashion designers in Iceland are a bunch of sisters that have developed a specific fashion line and attitude over the last 15 years. Their fashion is completely organic and recycling. They collect past clothing and redevelop it into new styles and use. Unfortunately they do not make things for men, but I managed to get out of them one jacket that is wonderful. They are named Aftur (meaning again) and their production happens in Iceland mostly although they are selling all over the world. There are few starry people that do not have some clothes from them and they specifically produce things for Björk, the Icelandic singer and many other superstars. I love these sisters, have proposed them for the ‘designer of the year’ price that is handed out every year in Iceland and they have never got it. They are completely uneducated in school and thus signify the incapability of my programs ha ha. Bára is the main driver in Reykjavik and the others play along and develop various side projects. Yesterday I was walking the main street in Reykjavik and met this performance outside their shop. Love you girls! You know that!
July 16, 2011
Tags: fashion, iceland, recycling, sustainability Posted in: DESIGN, FASHION, ICELAND, SUSTAINABILITY Comments Closed
ORGANIC FOOD IN REYKJAVIK CENTRUM
A simple sign saying ‘ORGANIC’ in Icelandic in front of the food stand. Lovely attempt and will grow over the summer they tell me.
Lovely to see the shoppers inspecting and actually buying aswell.
It is lovely to follow how we are slowly moving from the madness of progress and commercial enterprises. I know it is slowely and sad situation when compared to the enterprisal madness of capitalistc production and especially trading that is actually killing our planet. We are for example at the moment using 1,4 of the energy that we should from the planet, rather than 1,0 or less. This means that our planet will not survive for many decades if this continues. We all agree this and know. Therefore it is so great to follow the small initiatives where people are consuming less, making local, trying to eat local and organic food. Today in Reykjavik there has started a small organic central market. Of course there have been local shops serving this but it is great to see this out in the street, more open to the public. Today I took a few photos of the gang starting the shop.
The market stand is lonely in the main square in town, but that will develop.
July 15, 2011
Tags: iceland, market, organic Posted in: DESIGN, ICELAND, SUSTAINABILITY No Comments
LUNGA ART/DESIGN WORKSHOP IN ICELAND
The Iceland Academy of Art and the Oslo National Academy of Art are running a short master course in Iceland in July like before. This is a dream of mine and Goddur, my friend and professional partner in searching for ‘other’ directions in design creativity.
A photo from the workshop studio. The regular boat from Europe is just coming into the harbor. One can not be more close to the international communication.
We do have a location in the East of Iceland in Seyðisfjörður where there are various locations for art and design from governal institutions and private interests. I must admit that I do actually enjoy the location and the athmosphere there but most of all meeting all the enthusiastic people searching for alternative perspectives to creativity and design.
This year we are concentrating on creativity from before textual introduction, something that happened in the years 500-1000 after Christ. Of course they had text before but it was overdriven and opressed by the Christian World Dominance, and much of it has been lost or supressed badly by arrogant one line educationalism. We like to find the origins of form, ideas and links to environmental and locational happenings. So we are looking at sweat lodges, something that I have got to know from Canada and all over Nordic region and now also from Russia and Siberia. So we spend the days looking and testing and then later drive ideas for further research.
Here is a link to the official longer workshop that is happening at the same time.
July 11, 2011
Posted in: ARCHITECTURE, ART, DESIGN, FASHION, ICELAND Comments Closed
JOACHIM HUNDEN WORKING IN FRANCE!
One of my students from Oslo just got a job. This is always nice, and especially when they get a job in a place that is doing worth while things.
In my opinion anything that works against boredom is good so I support Joachim and his gang greatly. Can not wait for popping over for a visit one day.
Joachim Kvernstrøm has been our student in fashion design in Oslo for a while. He came into my faculty from studying in London for BA. We somehow got on very well from the beginning and he came to Maputo to work with my students in the Maputo school when I was running a course there with the help of the Norwegian school. There he was part of a great gang that worked with the local students and teachers in an intensive workshop. See for example here.
Joachim was very stimulating for the Mozambican students and we had great time working together. He did actually promise to make me an overcoat from a tent, something that I will remind him of regularly for the coming years ha ha!
Anyway he did apply for a job in France some time ago and last week he went for an interview and he got the in-house designer job along with other five other mad designers. He is going to work with the Volcom gang in Southern France. I love some of what they are up to, like this.
Joachim with my students in Maputo going through knitting methods. Here is an album from the workshop.
I wish him all the best in his new job, starting on August 1st and I look forward to popping over when I pass through France next time. And of course claim my tent ha ha!
The company website from France.
July 3, 2011
Posted in: AFRICA, DESIGN, FASHION, ISAC - KHiO, MOZAMBIQUE Comments Closed
SMALL FASHION OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT SHOP IN ICELAND
Today I went to a small outlet shop run by friends of mine, sisters Bára and gang. They do actually run the ‘RECYCLE OR DIE’ shop and label AFTUR.IS. A great label for amazing clothing, even I have some although they do actually not produce clothes for men. I managed one jacket.
Here are some images from their annual short shop. Enjoy.
July 2, 2011
Posted in: ART, DESIGN, ICELAND, SUSTAINABILITY Comments Closed
SKETCH BOOKS MADE IN ICELAND
Whatever there are technical advances in design method or tools, the sketch book is always the fundamental tool for creativity and design method. It is there where we explore possibilities, like those that we find out that they do not work or could be improved. I started using the sketch book in my teenage years and still have most of my books lying in boxes or shelves. They have become history of my methods and explorations. I also have there history of many of my projects, the buildings and furniture that I have then produced and often not produced. The sketch book is also the tool that we use together with students to explore possibilities and find out impossibilities. Now, I am a bit stuck for a while in what I am able or allowed to do and then I have started making my own sketch books, actually in great quantities. I just fold the papers, sew them together and glue. The books are then my history and also link to my method of making by hand things that later are developed in production, sometimes in far off places by my students or co-workers. Here are some images of books that I have been gluing together during my last days while being in my home town of Reykjavik. The covers are capulanas that I have got in Mozambique, wonderful materials to make clothes and books from.
Open sketch book that I have running at the moment, the drawings are from Nampula in Mozambique, from a room and off a little lady friend of mine.
Many books of many sizes, I really like making different sizes thinking of different uses that people might use.
June 22, 2011
Tags: art, drawing, scetch book Posted in: AFRICA, DESIGN, ISAC - KHiO, MOZAMBIQUE Comments Closed
CONSTRUCTION IN ICELAND
The small side extension to the private house that I am doing in Iceland is being constructed at the moment. Nice to visit and follow and actually provide some tech info also. Here are two funny photos from today, 21. june 2011.
Sverrir and Raggi are building the small extension that is happening in the garden of the site. Here is Tidda (sister) Raggi (Iceland’s hardest hardcore rock drummer) and Sverrir admiring the construction.
A very simple site for a small house for a couple to live in. Raggi is bending metal for the concrete construction.
The house seen from air from the river side.
The house seen from the road side. Reykjalundur is in the background and the river can not be seen but it is in the bottom of the valley where the thick trees are.
June 21, 2011
Tags: architecture, iceland, private house Posted in: ARCHITECTURE, ICELAND Comments Closed
EXCELLENT CUMULUS MEETING IN PARIS, ESPECIALLY DESIS
We had an excellent meeting in Desis in Paris linked to the Cumulus meeting. Here are some images from the meeting and links. I have little time to write my thoughts at the moment but at least these links open up the news.
May 30, 2011
Posted in: DESIGN, FASHION, SUSTAINABILITY Comments Closed
WHATEVER INNOVATION IN TEC, SKETCHBOOK IS ALWAYS FIRST
Yara posing with her first book. Some jeans cloth and red first papers make it cool.
Horray for sketchbooks!!!!
I am a fundamental believer in the sketchbook as the number one tool for designers. Yes, I can agree that there are many cool software and gadget-tools to make simple suggestions for design. But I still believe in the good old sketchbook that I carry around with me almost every day. It is my diary and creativity development tool. Yesterday my friend, hard rock guitarist and design student Yara came around because she demanded that she wants to learn to make a book from me. She has been seeing mine, the ones that I cover with capulana textiles here in Maputo and she wants the same. So yesterday she came around to have a go and her first book is cool. Now she will teach her fellow students in the graphic design school in down-town Maputo and hopefully move them from the laptop. Here are some images of the fun production.
Yara hard at the cutting and sewing and gluing at home. Working on my working table, something that I designed myself. Ok, ok, ok three Macs shows that we still think computers ok although the sketchbook is also one of the fundamental tools of trade for designers.
May 15, 2011
Posted in: AFRICA, DESIGN, ISAC - KHiO, MOZAMBIQUE Comments Closed
COOPERATIVE WORKSHOP IN ISARC
Knitting and product design going on in the workshop room in ISArC. Everyone intensively busy all the time.
Intensive focus on the graphic composition. In that group we concentrated on visual communication about Deforestation and Energy. Ane at the Mac-helm and the guys advicing.
The last week has been filled with intensive work in ISArC here in Mozambique, when 5 visitors came from KHiO in Oslo to cooperate with the students. It is great to create such meeting points through working together so we can learn from each other. To visit the designers in ISArC came Stein (product designer), Dagfinn (fashion and especially knitting), Joachim (fashion designer), Ane (graphic design) and Henrik (furniture design). In addition for the workshop they had me and Karina the design professor in ISArC.
We split our work into 3 groups: Furniture and Product, Fashion and Knitting and Visual Communication. The three groups worked mostly separately developing product ideas and design methods. Out of the five very intensive days came incredibly large output while we had agreed that output was not the goal of the workshop, but rather process. The outputs arrive later, when the Mozambican students turn out their work and the projects in Oslo start being modified based on the learning that comes out of such cooperation.
Knitting technology discussed. They experimented with knitting out of discarded textiles, cutting strips and then creating great patterns and colours
We take little time out to evaluate how to continue the cooperation, what methods have the greatest effects etc. But my plan is to propose a similar workshop early in the next semester here. I hope people are as motivated after this time as I am. Here are posted images from the workshop, but I will post some of the work later when I have managed time to edit it.
Here is a link to a photo album from the workshop. Hard work and fun in equal proportions.
Hard core production development going on there.
May 11, 2011
Tags: academy, art, DESIGN, maputo, mozambique, norway, oslo Posted in: DESIGN, FASHION, ISAC - KHiO Comments Closed
ARCHITECTURE IS FUN
My official drawing of the house. The small alcove on the left has still not been erected but will go up this coming summer.
One of my architectural projects is coming along now. It is a private house in Iceland, on the outskirts of Reykjavik, where most of Icelanders actually live. The owners are just going to move in and the zinc is being clad on the main bulk of the house. I have nothing to say about the project at this time but like to post these pics of the cladding.
The house seen from the street. The zinc cladding is coming on and the concrete is to be treated. Icelandic spring trees wait for the leaves. Timber front door and a bridge is to be made to the door.
The house seen from below. Here the zinc has still the plastic coating on and one can detect a guy working on the cladding. The kitchen is located on this side with windows to the river below and distant mountains.
May 9, 2011
Posted in: ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, ICELAND Comments Closed
HIP-HOP IN MAPUTO
A captive audience ready to try and have a go themselves!
My friend here in Maputo, Mandira Paul came to Mozambique as part of an EU support program. It was initially rather confusing what she and others were supposed to do but Mandira preserved and really has participated in various projects. Interestingly although Mandira is actually a doctor she is also a hardcore Hip-Hop dancer with experience from California and Sweden and even from one of my home towns Oslo. So when Mandira had settled in and got to know the dance gang here in Maputo she has managed to get a project going with a group of locals. Yesterday there was a presentation of various dance projects and the Hip-Hop came in very strongly. The local kids taking to it very well. It actually is not surprising since the people here (and especially the young) adapt very easily to new tech methods, and styles. Maputo is one of the coolest places in Africa I have read (not having the experience widely) and I must admit that this lovely city reminds me more of my home town Reykjavik than any other place I have lived.
Here are some photos from the Hip-Hop.
Here are photos from the event itself, the audience and fashionistas.
Hopping Moz Guys!
The dance presentation took place in one of the outskirts of town, the 39th Quarter named Polana Caniço “B.
The event is part of a promotion project for promoting better sexual health. Named Platform of Health, Creativity and Cultural Exchange. Here is some of the promotion text:
JAM SESSION!! - Plataforma de saude, criatividade e intercambio cultural
Vamos introduzir Hiphop na rua dos bairros do Maputo!
Vamos realizar o primeiro jam session, que vai comecar com um aspectaculo com varios artistas que vao fazer danca tradicional mas tambem hiphop e capoeira. No fim do aspectaculo vamos convidar todos que estiverem a assistir para participar na danca, improvisar e criar.
No sitio tambem vao estar activistas da Coalizao que vao falar acerca da saude sexual e reprodutiva e em simultaneo vao distribuir preservativos e tudo que irao precisar para ficar com prazer e seguranca.
May 8, 2011
Posted in: AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, MUSIC Comments Closed
