African creatives convene at Cipriani's for 2 days of meetings on the heels of the UN Summit of the Future
Make sure you go to the right Cipriani's
Snip from Google Maps, presumably at the right Ciprianis at 110 E. 42nd. Don't go to Harry Cipriani's, which is up on 5th and 59th, in the base of the Sherry Netherland. The idea of hosting something like this in a restaurant (?) is kind of endearing in a way.
Now in its third year, the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) is maturing into a year-round private initiative. GABI is a platform that puts Africa in its rightful place at the heart of the global economy, and positions the continent as the premier destination for business, trade and investment,” said Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact.
What are we watching? We are watching several things in the livestream feed while cranking out work.
Destination Resort Tourism: The overall purpose of GABI is to broaden investment from colonial resource exploitation, and the concurrent humanitarian and security needs that seem to always accompany the colonial project. GABI seeks to network the digital economy, as well as tourism. For this we expect to see the usual players: Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and perhaps Tanzania. Who else is attracting tourism?
Cultural Heritage Tourism: In Dar es Salaam, there's a rather fascinating Kijiji cha Makumbusho showcasing the building methods of different groups in Tanzania. It may not be on your bucket list but as indigenous architecture fans it is most certainly on ours. In the meantime, cultural heritage interpretation and learning opportunities are as vast as Africa itself. What are some of the current initiatives and how are the designers doing this?
Gando Primary School, Burkina Faso. Francis Kere, Architect and 2024 Pritzker Prize winner. This oft-cited building boils down architcture to its essence and rejuvinates the notion of participatory architecture; i.e. the village helped to design and build it rather than receive a piece of architecture from "the genius" in traditional western style.
Architecture: While afrofuturism has taken off as a full-fledged movement, afrofuturist architecture seems to struggle with parallel realization. What happened to the days when architects participated in the Pan-African Congresses of the 1950s and 1960s?
Visual Art: And of course our native tongue, visual art. Folorunso Alakija | Vice-Chairman, FAMFA Oil Limited and Managing Director, The Rose of Sharon Group, hosts a conversation about visual arts, music, and poetry.
We'll watch the video feed and let you know what we see. You're invited to watch as well, and we can always compare notes.
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