Tailors and artistes

 Diallo et Mamadou, tailors at Medina 3

Patrick Sirot drawing workshop at the "Maison des Artistes", Ilot K

I don't know if was the visit of Enrique that got me out in the streets again. I know I wanted to find time in my busy schedule to go out again for a long time.

 I'm also starting a monthly drawing reportage to be published every month in a free magazine "Citymag" that's distributed in Nouakchott. Another reason to go out more often.

And great news if you're in Lisbon. Don't miss the release of the book put together by Eduardo Salavisa and published by Quimera, "Urban sketchers in Lisbon, drawing the city" a bilingual edition with more than 300 images made by the 200 sketchers from 20 different countries who met at the urban sketchers Symposium,  July 21-23, to sketch and talk about sketching.

Port de pêche artisanale

It had been a long time since I had been in the fish market sketching. The visit of Enrique Flores and Antonia Santolaya to Mauritania and Senegal was the perfect occasion as I had the pleasure of taking them both there. You can check their drawings here. I had no time for portraits, as their visit to the capital was very short and they spent most of their time visiting the desert and the coastal areas.

Give a little...get a sketch!

Take a look at more than 35 sketches by Urban Sketchers around the world that you can choose from in the Flickr set here  if you make a donation . For a small donation, you can download high-resolution image that you can print out and display. If you make a donation of $75 or more, you can choose a print from this set, sent to you directly from the artist. More on how to donate is in this post on the Urban Sketchers blog.  

The money that you help raise will go toward organizing an international symposium and cover a scholarship program to encourage artists to sketch and their part of the world, one drawing at a time. Thank you for your interest!

R'gueiba, Banc d'Arguin

 Dahjeba, the drum player

 clapping and singing

 Tahra mint Embara and Steve Shehan

 Tahra mint Embara and Steve Shehan

Tahra mint Embara

 R'gueiba school

  R'gueiba school

 R'gueiba school

Those where posted at Urban Sketchers with comments here and here

Oumar Ball "Oiseaux du désert" installation

 Oumar Ball last preparations

setting up

setting up

setting up

 Today, thursday 17th November, will be the opening of the exhibition "Oiseaux du désert, oiseaux du Banc d'Arguin" an installation by Oumar Ball.

 A Mauritanian artist, with whom I've been working closely for the past year. 

Its the first time I'm curating an exhibition and working with Oumar has been very enriching in many ways. Not only I try to push him to his limits and to get him to question and criticise his own work but I see how easy it is to be satisfied with what we do and how difficult it is to keep pushing forward. 

Many years ago a Portuguese sculptor, Jorge Vidal, made me draw my own hand and every time I stopped he kept saying keep going... at the time I did it reluctantly as I was already satisfied with what I had done but as he kept telling me to keep working on this one drawing I saw how it got stronger.

I saw myself doing the same thing to Oumar I just hope that I'll be so exigent on my own work as I was with him. 

Don't miss it if you're in Nouakchott. 

Also if you speak French there's an interview of Oumar  Ball and of myself, the 4th of December in France Culture a two hour radio interview from 2 pm to 4 pm by Arnaud Contreras about the city of Nouakchott.
 Great article in French about the installation.

Odds from my visit to the Banc d'Arguin

 An ornithologue washing up the dishes in the morning and a dead limicole in Cap Tafarit.

 A Basque, a Bretonne and a young Amrigue making tea at the village of Teichott.

party's and concerts in Nouakchott

Teinture

 and on a windy, sandy afternoon we dyed cloth with the help of Fatimata.

Markez Le Lehsera

Mariem with fingerless gloves doing the hem of a handmade carpet of natural fibers and leather typical of this region. You can see photos of the carpets at Sinaa as we exhibited the carpets during the month of September.

Matys and the African masks

 Thanks to Matis I went to france on a short holiday.
He had visited the African exhibition at the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux and he was so impressed he phoned his oncle in Mauritania to tell him about it and asking if he could go over to see it.

Great exhibition made mostly of collector pieces.