In the context of our MACAAL Friends At Home series, we were pleased to invite Odile Tevie, Director of the Nubuke Foundation (Accra, Ghana), Adama Sanneh, Co-founder & CEO of the Moleskine Foundation (Milan, Italy) and Moataz Nasr, artist & Founder of Darb 1718 (Cairo, Egypt), to our fifth ZOOM Webinar. Moderated by Janine Dieudji, Exhibitions Director at MACAAL, the discussion explored the need of communities’ representation and inclusion in creative narratives.
About Odile Tevie
Odile Tevie graduated from the University of Ghana in 1986 and worked in various positions with banking software group Misys, before managing the IT operations of Ghana International Bank in London. After setting up her own art gallery, Black Swan, in the English capital, Odile worked with several Ghanaian, Togolese and Nigerian artists, to promote their work. A founding member and director of Nubuke Foundation, Odile is passionate about providing alternative opportunities for children wanting to learn about Ghanaian culture. Odile says, “The Foundation is concerned by the erosion of our culture and I believe it’s necessary to protect the very essence of what makes us Ghanaian – something which will always set us apart.”
About Adama Sanneh
Adama Sanneh is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Moleskine Foundation. Adama brings a unique hybrid background in management and cultural studies to his work designing and building innovative organisations able to generate social impact. He graduated in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation from the University of Milan, obtained a Master in Public Management (MPM) from the Bocconi School of Management and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Geneva. After graduating, he worked as a management and strategy consultant for various public and not-for-profit organizations among which the United Nations, in education, social entrepreneurship, and innovation. As a CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, he is committed to explore and leverage the intersection of business, education, culture, and social development to create new and meaningful public value.
About Moataz Nasr
Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr explores traditions and new globalism, questioning geopolitical and social development in Africa. The artistic practice for Nasr is a tool and a language that embraces art, sociology, Sufism and history, in order to encourage dialogue across geographical boundaries. In 2018, Nasr has been invited to take part to Abu Dhabi Art 2018 Beyond and create a site-specific work in the historic sites in Al Ain. In 2019 he was invited to take part to the Havana Biennal and has participated to Fiac Hors Les Murs with the installation of the work Sun Boat at Les Tuileries. Among the most recent solo shows, in 2019 The Liminal Space, in Castel del Monte, Andria, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva and Paradise Lost in Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, curated by Simon Njami. In 2017, he was selected to represent Egypt during the 57th Venice Biennale. The work presented in the Egyptian Pavilion was an immersive installation showing the original film The Mountain.
About Janine Dieudji
Janine Gaëlle Dieudji is the Exhibitions Director of MACAAL. A native of France and Cameroon, Janine moved to Florence in 2011 and has gained a broad range of experience in arts and culture over the years. Past experiences include exhibitions and projects in collaboration with Le Murate District, American Academy in Rome and Villa Romana as Vice-President and Co-director of the cultural association BHMF (Black History Month Florence). She is a graduate of Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, Paris, and Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon.
FEATURED IMAGE: Batoul S’Himi (b. 1974, Asilah, Morocco), Untitled, from the series World Under Pressure, 2011. Aluminum. Museum purchase, 2014-15-1. All images courtesy of Smithsonian.
