Organizer Information
Developed in the specialized context of the Dakar Biennale 2026, Gëestu / Giss (meaning "to search in order to find") is an innovative residency program designed to foster deep dialogue between contemporary creation and traditional African craftsmanship. The program operates as a respectful exchange channel within local communities, exploring cultural sovereignty, non-extractive resource sharing, and communal living.
Title & Description
Gëestu / Giss Artist-Craft Residency 2026.
This immersive residency takes place across a spiritual, agroecological, and urban landscape on the edge of the Senegalese desert. The program invites international creators to step out of Western-centric productivity loops and approach material art as a form of slow, shared devotion. Rather than imposing outside methods, residents are expected to listen, transform a heritage through horizontal co-creation, and return the findings to the territory.
The Three-Phase Structure:
- Phase 1: Observation & Research (1 Week | Mbacké Kadior): A pure immersion period based within a traditional Daara (spiritual community hub). Residents participate in shared daily communal tasks, agricultural cycles, oral storytelling, and listening exercises. No production pressure is applied.
- Phase 2: Production (2–3 Weeks | Ndem Artisanal Village): Hands-on co-creation within specialized collective workshops. Selected artists collaborate directly with local master artisans to hybridize contemporary art with ancestral skills. Special access is provided to Ndem’s famed Maam Samba color chart, recognized by UNESCO for its cultural heritage value.
- Phase 3: Restitution & Exhibition (2 Weeks | Maam Samba Space, Dakar): A public group presentation integrated into the official OFF program of the Dakar Biennale 2026. The final week features interactive panels, performances, and community activations.
Categories
Visual Arts, Textile/Fiber Art, Craft/Traditional Arts (Natural dyeing, embroidery, weaving, basketry, leather, woodwork, and metalwork).
Eligibility
- Scope: Open globally to adult professional artists, designers, and artisans of all backgrounds and media formats.
- Profile Suitability: Ideal for practitioners with a strong material-based focus and a demonstrable sensitivity to ecological sobriety, indigenous knowledge networks, and spiritual settings.
- Language & Climate: Applicants must be comfortable living in close-knit communal conditions and working within a dry, arid desert climate.
Program Benefits and Awards (Fully Funded Framework):
- Artist Stipend: €2,000 (unrestricted research and creation grant; no transfer of copyright required).
- Production Budget: €2,000 assigned directly for material purchases, fabrication costs, and the fair financial remuneration of collaborating master artisans.
- Logistical Coverage: Full international and domestic round-trip transport, visa fees, comprehensive regional medical insurance, and private/shared on-site housing.
- Full Board: All daily meals are entirely covered, utilizing local, organic ingredients grown directly via Ndem's agroecological farmlands.
- On-Site Support: Dedicated local cultural liaisons, translators, and curatorial project advisors.
Fees
- Application Fee: None (Free to submit).
Application Requirements
Dossiers must be written in French or English and sent via email containing:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Project Note of Intent: A structured breakdown detailing your proposed project or conceptual approach (3,000 to 5,000 characters including spaces). May include technical sketches or preliminary visual layouts.
- Artistic Portfolio: Maximum of 10 pages (PDF format) documenting your material investigations and previous projects.
- Letter of Motivation: Maximum of 2,000 characters detailing your expectations of communal living and territorial engagement.
How to Apply?
Submit your consolidated PDF dossier directly via email to the selection board at geestu.giss@gmail.com with the subject line format: ArtistName / Gëestu Giss Application.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: May 31, 2026, at 23:59 CET. Late or fragmented emails will be automatically deleted.
- Final Selection Announcement: June 2026 (following video interviews with a pre-selected pool of 20 candidates).
- Residency Execution Window: October – November 2026.
- Dakar Biennale OFF Exhibition Run: November 19 – December 19, 2026.
Location
Senegal (Mbacké Kadior, Ndem, and Dakar).
Additional Details
The selection jury will apply an intersectional approach to evaluation. While preserving regional balance, partial funding structures for this cycle may give additional notice to artists maintaining professional or territorial roots within the Seine-Saint-Denis (France) creative sectors. Artists are permitted to communicate project requirements to the Ndem textile workshops in advance to source raw, bio-sourced materials before phase one begins.