By Adefoyeke Ajao

Six artists from different countries will participate in this year’s edition of an intensive six-week mobile art residency titled “Stretched Terrains”. This is the second edition of the residency programme to head for Dakar since 2016 and it is supported by the Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines. The residency will take place aboard the Molue Mobile Museum of Contemporary Art (MMMoCA), a revamped version of a mass transit vehicle that was once popular in the metropolis. The Mobile Museum’s first trip was to Cotonou, Benin Republic in 2014.

The Mobile Museum departs from Lagos on 10th of April and will pass through Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Mali on a journey that will cover approximately 10,000km. The museum is expected to berth in Senegal on the 25th of April, just in time for the opening of the 13th International Biennal Dak’Art, and artists on board are expected to create artworks during the journey and on arrival in Dakar. These artworks will be presented and discussed at Goethe- Instituts and cultural centres as the artists make their return journey through Dakar, Bamako, Abidjan, Accra, Lomé and Lagos.

According to the organisers, “the challenge for the artists, but also the special character of the project is the frequent relocation, the constantly changing framework and the unexpected connection with the journey”. The project will be curated by Emeka Udemba, an artist and curator (Nigeria) who will be joined by Gabriel Goller, a photographer (Germany); Souleymane Konate, a painter (Ivory Coast); Dame Diongue, an experimental artist (Senegal); Monsuru Alashe, an experimental artist and graphic designer (Nigeria) and Ray Agbo, a sculptor (Ghana).

By pushing the boundaries of conventional art spaces, the residency allows the artists to
“examine diverse public spaces as communication zones of social, economic and political
interaction/intervention/disruption”. Apart from situating their works within other cultural
contexts, this adventure gives the artists opportunities to collaborate with one another, and the
public.

The artists’ journey can be followed on the web blog www.goethe.de/stretchedterrains and on
social media with #StretchedTerrains.