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