Today we had a workshop in ISAC where the students learned to make their own sketchbook/diary/reflective tool. This item is the fundamental tool of our trade, where we run our own internal dialogue with ourselves. Testing, experimenting and criticizing what we are trying to project. Practicing what the fancy US business calls DESIGN THINKING and we call work.

The workshop is an integral part of the new project that we are running this month in ISAC named: DETOURNAMENT. This is about looking out for new possibilities in the collision of ideas, images, signs etc., often in with an embedded political vision (environmental, social, gender driven etc.). This coincides nicely with the fact that there will be general election in the country in the end of this month.

The students folding folios and sewing together the books.

The program in the school has been the following:

In the beginning we ran: Encontros de discussão – A conference of all the students and academic staff in ISAC about the role of the school, its position in society and the differences and similarities in the disciplines. There we performed pensamento relativo as linhas orientadoas de cada curso: Arte/Design/Animacao Cultural. This has been reported here.

They are cutting the inside coloured pages for their books

This first phase was to create an orientation for ourselves and ISAC as a whole.

The second phase dealt with reality and its representation and interpretation: Realidade/Representação da realidade/Documentação da Realidade

This phase was about documentation (of for example reality), how it is directed, the inclusion of the documenter in the perspective of what is being documented etc. There we used the support of the DOCANEMA festival that was taking place in Mozambique.  Out of this work the students were required to create their own

Interpretação and Reflexão (Interpretation and reflection) During this phase we visited the Eduardo Mondlane University Library, where the students got first hand information about information technology and academic research. We had also a lecture from the main librarian in the Central Politechnic Library.

Gluing the spine of the already sewn book

Now we are working on the LIMITES (the limits) of our institution, of our personal practice and of ISAC as an institution in Mozambique and in the international community of art academies. We ask: “Who defines our limits?” Quem define os limites?

For this work it is excellent to use detournament as a tool and include the sketchbook as the practical tool for reflection, documentation and experimentation.

Professora Karina also made her own book

We had a great day, the students refused to take a break. I must thank my very good friends in Oslo and London: Maz, Doglas in St Martins and Cecilie in London (or wherever they are working each time) and Theo for teaching me the bookmaking and helping me realize how important it is that one is able oneself to make these tools and use them!

Here the capulana (African textile material that is widely used) is being prepared for being the cover

A stack of half done books waiting for continuation tomorrow

I took a quick trip to home fields this September to confer with my people about our work here in Maputo, how the strategy is going, how to change course and what the next steps should be. I also attended the annual Cirrus Conference that took place in Copenhagen this time. I am the leader of the Cirrus Network, which is a network of the majority of Design and Art schools in the Nordic and Baltic countries. That work has given me great pleasure (and obligations) since I really enjoy working for design internationally, especially promoting it as something of value for society and with the other institutes influence national and Nordic design policy, education and research.

I gave lectures in Oslo and Reykjavik about our work in Africa and the establishment of ISAC to make sure that a wider group of people participate in our effort. Surely a larger group has the ability to find wider and diverse possibilities that just the two of us. We have also always considered ourselves as representatives of the networks of designers that we belong to like KHiO, LHÍ, Cirrus and the Cumulus Association. The objective of meeting up with friends in the North was to look out for possibilities of cooperation in the coming very sensitive years for the new school. It pleased me greatly how many came to my presenatations, especially to the Reykjavik lecture and it was fun to meet many friends and participate in discussions about possibilities. Now I have returned to the busy life of getting things further off the ground, participating in the World Wide Views workshop and exhibition that Sóley has been running here and get on with the many tasks of creating strategies for the coming months and years.

I decided to do some simple video documentation of our first days in ISAC. This is an interesting moment, when an academy is formed. We decided to run a simple conference so that we together can define the boundaries of the disciplines and to create a common understanding among the students and teachers of what the issues should really be in a university level education. We did discuss the reflective and critical fundamental element in a university where the students and teachers together discuss and experiment with ideas, moving out the boundaries of reality. We discuss the differences and similarities of the three different fields of art/design/art management (production).

These clips are very short selected documents of the activity and conversation that took place on the first day in school.

One of the reasons we decided to go to Mozambique was that there is enough of designers in the Nordic Countries and the Cirrus Network. Actually all Western countries. So we decided to try and do our bit where there is need for people with knowledge about design and maybe also some knowledge about how to teach design. We are now in Mozambique and this is happening now with the establishment of ISAC as is many blogged here. A side task has been to use our networks to assist with connecting friends here in Maputo to the outer world. I am now in contact with people in some of the other Southern Sahara design and art schools and I would love the new schools to link to the global network of schools and designers. Our friends in the Cumulusassociation have posted news of the establishment of ISAC and we hope that some of the member schools see opportunities to start some cooperation with us here in Africa. I will attend the Cumulus Conference in Melbourne later this year to inform and link. This is all great news and keeps us optimistic about the future of design, diversity of design and expansion of Cumulus to all corners of the globe. We fare better when we work together!

Will 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.