From East Africa to Asia: Material Culture + Exchange on the Swahili Coast

About the talk:
Join us for a conversation on the material culture of the Swahili coast and the Indian Ocean exchange with Aurelia Niat Toundji and Salwat Idi from Manufactoriel.

Aurelia and Salwat will discuss their projects Zingatia and Kwa Maisha na Maisha Baadaye (For Life and the Afterlife). The two publications explore the material culture of the Swahili coast, with a particular focus on ceramics, as seen in Swahili domestic and funerary architecture.

The project traces how centuries of Indian Ocean exchange connected East Africa with the Arabian Peninsula, India, and China through the circulation of objects, materials, and ideas.

About the speakers:

manufactoriel is a research bureau led by Aurélia Niat Toundji and Salwat Idi, based in Garges-lès-Gonesse, France. Its practice is structured around four core activities: research, publishing, design, and transmission. 

Engaged in both physical and digital archiving, manufactoriel curates critical projects, develops collaborations with cultural institutions and brands, and activates its work through workshops, commissions, and curatorial projects. 

Through its publishing platform, cahiers manufactoriel, the practice proposes a critical approach to African and Black contemporary visual culture, art and style. The practice explores research as both an artistic and poietic process, fostering a dialogue between content, the materiality and spaciality of the book, and affirming publishing as a site of creation and critical thought. 

Sliding Scale $5-15. Proceeds will go towards the speakers and keeping the studio open and future public programming.

Light refreshments will be provided.