Hera Bid Completed
We have been developing a project named SRVD for almost five years now. The seeds of the work came up when I met Lorraine Gamman, a researcher at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design during a conference in Oslo. We were speaking in the same forum about social responsibility and design. Lorraine is the director of Design Against Crime Research Centre in the Innovation Centre at St. Martins and runs projects there with Adam Thorpe, who is the creative director of the same unit. We started talking about how irritated people and thus designers have become of the world as it is, systems, things, environment etc. Their good friend Maziar Raein, who used to work in St. Martins is also a good friend of ours and co-worker in the Oslo National Academy. Together we decided to look into these issues, as very many other designers were also doing at the time as has transpired. I invited them to Oslo for a seminar that we ran to discuss the issues over two days, and then we met on a kind of a regular basis over the years, trying to define what we really meant with social responsibility and then later responsivity. Out of this came our name of SRVD (Socially Responsive Design), an umbrella covering the many projects that want to address such issues. Well, to make a long story short, we have now at last completed the second phase of our research bid to HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) in cooperation with the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, or to be more specific with Alison Clarke in the Papanek Institute there. The research project is named:
How are we being served? Understanding/defining Socially Responsive Design (SRVD) in relation to Social, Economic and Cultural (SEC) Innovation Success in the 21st Century, and reviewing its impact, particularly on the Third Sector.
Now we have to wait until Oct-Nov to find out if our bids becomes successful, but I know that there is stiff competition in the field. What I like is the fact that we have spent lot of time to think and discuss. SRVD does already exist as an umbrella and we are all working under that flag, like for example the DiG-Equality project that we are running now in conjunction with the EDDA program in Iceland that has the sub-name: Center of Excellence in Gender, Equality and Diversity Research.
Fingers crossed
New Arts Academy in Mozambique
Since we blog about our activities people follow what we are up to. I always see the blog as a two sided thing: a) Reporting to others what one is up to; especially for us who do not live close to the largest cluster of friends and co-workers, and so that others can maybe learn something from the work we are doing. b) Documenting ones activities for ourselves so that we can go back and look at what happened and maybe that way help evaluate the successes and failures from the decision taken.
And because we report, others get to know. Here is a small newsflash in the Icelandic media (Morgunbladid) about our work here in Maputo about the new ISAC academy. The photo shows us with Victor Sala, the director of EVAV and a member of the preparation committee for the new school.
Landscaping in Iceland and Webwork in Mozambique
We are located i Maputo for one more year at least and do not consider us global in any way. One just goes where there is work and interesting things to do. But it is interesting how we do projects in Iceland or UK or Norway while also operating in Maputo. Yesterday I went with Karina, my co-worker in the design department of ISAC, the new arts academy that I have often blogged about, to select the colours for the new campus. Today we are working web and landscape.
My private house project in Iceland is being landscaped at the moment. The construction starts after 2-3 weeks. Here are images that I got sent today.
At the same time we are sitting in the ENAV art school in Maputo showing the students how to create private wordpress blogs and therefore I am uploading this image. They are learning how to make their own blogs and how to work with photos and text etc.
Here are examples.
This is in a way a fun Saturday in the simple medialab here in Maputo. Andri takes some photos, we upload them and modify for size and then publish. Then the students are also uploading the same photos. This blog is maybe a bit chaotic, but it at least demonstrates to the students the use of web.
ISAC – THE INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE ARTES CULTURA
The whole campus seen from Avenida das IndustriasWill be launched next month. The first higher education arts and design academy in the country, as I have said often before. Things have been slow and hickuppy and, yes it could be an African thing, but I had the same experience all through the Nineties when we were establishing the Iceland Academy of the Arts. Things are different; access to politicians is different, but decisions have to be taken on a basis of a political system, access to finance and competence in the country. I am very happy that we decided to come here and do our bit, whatever comes out of it. At least I have established a faculty of design and architecture before, so maybe my experience counts for something.
This is where the entrance to ISAC will be next month!After various meetings, we decided to go to the location of the new school. It is a campus, on the outskirts of Maputo, I do not know all the history behind the location but am understanding that the decision is based on a strategic vision for devolution from the center of Maputo that actually seems to collect all the fundamental activity in Mozambique. An interesting comment I heard last month was: “There is lots of money in Maputo, that is where all the bribes go!”
The main campus square and the auditorium and social areas.These images show the campus as it is today, and I must say that I was really impressed with the space and the potential. There are of course many things that are not ready and one does not know what condition the place will be in when the school starts next month, but since I am such an optimist and usually see the potential of things rather than the pitfalls I think the new academy will be great one day.
Timber, metal and glass workshops. Remnants from an earlier institute.We are waiting for certain decisions from the Ministry. Some of the curriculum is ready, I have been through the specifications for equipment and furniture for the design department and now we just have to live in hope. I remember the same feeling in Reykjavik, Iceland in the late 90’s. Always wondering when the decision comes from the ministry. Life is maybe not so different from one country to an other.
Very bright and clean studio spaces. New furniture is being ordered at this moment.Next week, we are going to be trough the startup courses/seminars/meetings that are going to be fundamental for the design department (I do not yet know if will be named a faculty or department) in the first semester. The curriculum for design is not very clear yet and that is going to be our task the coming two months. The people that wrote the general plan for ISAC are from the arts. The general plan is ok, but design has its own specific characteristics as we all know and that is what is going to be our task.
The lecture and assembly hall.The first semester will be a pilot semester and the school proper will start in early February 2010. That means we will have some time to run a dialogue about what design is, how it differs from arts, crafts and business, and to map the knowledge available in Mozambique to teach and run projects. This is really an exciting time ahead and we say that everyone is welcome to come and participate. Just send me a mail and we try to sort something. Of course there is no money here to pay for the participation, but maybe people can apply for development funds in their own institutions or countries to come and participate. We are expecting some people this coming semester, in photography, product design, visual communication and I hope fashion.
The canteen.Private House Design Breaking Ground
Today was the day for starting construction of one of my designs. A private house in the outskirts of Reykjavik, Iceland. I have had long time to develop this project since the owners have not been in a hurry to build. The project is simple, a clear requirement from the clients. A private detached house for a small family. The location is a very comfortable site in a low location next to a small river and even with trees!
The picture shows the action from today and an elevation of the street side of the house.
EURO-AFRICAN CAMPUS FOR CULTURAL COOPERATION
Workshop on Creative Economies in Africa.
Presentation about the role of Design in the Creative Economy and development projects
Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique, 22 – 26 June 2009
We participated in this conference and gave a presentation about design and the creative economy, our ideas about how design will develop in Mozambique in the coming years with the development of industry, the pre-school ENAV and the new academy of art and design ISAC.
