Chanel's le19M to host three-month long exhibition in Dakar, Senegal

After Chanel showed its Métiers d’Art collection in Senegal’s capital city in December, the Maison’s craftsmanship hub, le19M, is launching a three-month international programme in Dakar.

In a statement le19M said the entire country of Senegal is replete with artisanal expertise, a heritage to which le19M is particularly sensitive. In partnership with the Institut fondamental d’Afrique noire (IFAN) on the site of the Musée Théodore-Monod d’art africain, le19M has set up an off-site gallery.

The exhibition celebrates the richness and diversity of embroidery and weaving crafts. Entitled Sur le fil (On the thread), its programme is woven from the thread of a story that combines these two crafts with other artistic disciplines such as painting, photography, or installation, showcasing the creative wealth of Senegal and the humanistic values of its arts and crafts.

In the exhibition, works and installations across different media, created by numerous contemporary artists working with textiles —some of them in collaboration with le19M’s Maisons d’art— are presented in dialogue with heritage pieces from the collections of the Musée Théodore-Monod d’art africain. Alongside these exhibits, dozens of craftsmen are producing new works in situ, before the audience, and leading participatory workshops led by guest artists in residence.

The aim of the project is to showcase priceless artisanal skills to the broadest possible audience, to reassert the value of handicrafts, to encourage their dissemination, and to spark vocations among the general public, school-children, students, families, and lovers of craft.