For the period of November, the investigations of style of the Villa Saint-Louis Ndar continue through the residency of the visual artist Rithika Merchant, winner of the DDESSINPARIS 2021 Prize, awarded by the fair of contemporary drawings.
DDESSINPARIS, is an exceptional event of worldwide scope, which has become a reference in the field. It is an important event on the art market scene in France, since its creation by Eve de Medeiros. This prize aims to encourage contemporary creation and to value the works made by an artist chosen by a jury.
In order to pay particular attention to the regional anchorage of the residency projects, the Villa Saint-Louis Ndar instills the valorization of local cultures and know-how. Afterwards, a rich program of activities and mediation for the inhabitants of Saint-Louis accompanies the residents’ visit.
The Villa Saint-Louis Ndar is exceptional in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a place of reflection, experimentation and transdisciplinary creation, occupied by artists and scientists, emerging or not. This setting offers a chance for immersion in the heart of Saint-Louis. By proposing a scaffolding between Senegalese, French and, significantly further, between residents of the world, the Villa is important for the incredible St. Louisian custom of welcoming and receptivity to the world since it must be a space where creators, researchers and where thinkers of the world meet, share, team up, think and do together.
The Villa Saint-Louis Ndar offers the opportunity to rediscover Senegal, its variety and richness, to go under the crystal of art, creative spirit, thought and examination, the incredible stakes related to the African continent and the advances of our contemporary world.
Following this objective, each residence at the Villa Saint-Louis Ndar is a fabulous experience with Saint-Louis and its lot of experiences, its occupants, its skilled workers and its master builders; as many strong times and investigations which come to nourish the reflection and the creation.
It is within this framework that Rithika Merchant will lead drawing workshops with the young public of the media library of the French Institute of Senegal in Saint-Louis, but also with the students of the arts section of the Cheikh Omar Foutiyou Tall high school.
Appealing to the students’ imagination, Rithika Merchant will decode the heart of her practice through the activity of the stupefying corpse, concocted by the surrealists of the 20th century.
