D’ZAIR ART & CRAFT A JOHANNESBURG

Algerian design

D’ZAIR ART & CRAFT A JOHANNESBURG

Algerian design

ORGANIZATION’S COMMITEE

General ManagerMr Nazih Berramdane

Director of the Museum Of AfricanDeisgnMr Aaron Kohn

Assistant of the Director of the MOADMrs Pascale Aljure

VISUAL ARTS AND HERITAGE DEPARTMENTMrs Meriem Ait El Hara

Research ManagerMr Mohamed zaki Marami

Research ManagerMrs Faiza Maoudj

Head of General Administration DepartmentMr Fouad Chikhi

Section Chief at the General Administration DepartmentMrs. Houda Aissaoui

CuratorMr Hellal Zoubir

Co-CuratorMr Krinah Mourad

ScenographyMr Hellal Zoubir

Head of Communication DepartmentMr Smail Mesbah

TranslationMrs Yasmine Belkacem

Catalogue’s conceptionMr Walid Bouchouchi

PhotographyMr Walid Bouchouchi

Mrs Corine Zineb Metreh (for the pictures of Yamo)

manufacture of crates and packagingLASTAR communication

The “ D’ZAIR ART AND CRAFT A JOHANNESBURG - ALGERIAN DESIGN” exhibitionisco-organized by the AlgerianAgency for the Culture Outreach (AARC) and The Museum Of African Design (MOAD) atthe MOAD, Johannesburg, South Africa, under the of patronage of Mr Azzedine Mihoubi, Minister of Culture of the Algerian Republic.

The exhibition›s Curators MM. Hellal Zoubir and Mourad Krinah.

Algerian Design

D’Zair, Art and Craft A Johannesburg highlights some of the most important contemporary Algerian designs. Each piece in the show was commissioned and made in Algiers for the Museum of African Designin Johannesburg (“MOAD”) with the support of the Agence Algerian Pour le Rayonnement Culturel (“AARC”). The objects have been produced by a group of internationally renowned Algerian designers, and includes somerecent graduates from the « Ecole des Beaux-Arts d’Alger».

D’Zair, Art and Craft A Johannesburg invites visitors to appreciate the ideas engrossing Algerian designers – namely, their unique relationship to local artisans. Algeria does not havethe infrastructure that would allow designers to manufacture prototypes, which has had the advantage of merging traditional artisans’ dexterity with designers plans – leading to unique outcomes.

The title of the exhibition, D’Zair Art and Craft A Johannesburg, draws reference from the British Arts and Crafts Movement of the 19th century. Led by creatives such as William Morris, this anti-industrial movement advocated traditional craftsmanship and simple decorative arts, and became globally recognised.“D’Zair” is a colloquial slang for “Algeria”. In sum, within the exhibit’s title are Arabic-Algerian slang: D’Zair, English: Art and Craft, and French: À Johannesburg.

The multicultural exchange in the exhibit exemplifies design’s role in intersecting worlds of art and craft; worlds of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; worlds of North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Yamo, Ourrad Mohamed, Matari Jamel, Mammeri Leila, Hamiane Samir, Benmansour Hamida, Krinah Mourad, Idir Messaoud, Bekebir Amine, Rahil Neila, Issadi Said, Bouchouchi Walid & Zitouni Radia – the thirteen artists of our exposition – all exemplify these dimensions perfectly.

Hellal ZOUBIRCurator

D’Zair, Art and Craft A Johannesburg

Sometimes coincidences seem planned. Like the fact that at dinner one night in Dakar, Senegal, I was introduced to a young Algerian video artist – Amina Zoubir. The cohort of Algerians who were participating in the 2014 Dak’Art Biennale were pretty amusing; a few mentioned that this was their first visit to “Africa”; other artists featured in the Algerian Pavilion really did not practice in Algeria anymore.

Of course, the Algerian situation is no different from the rest of the continent. Perhaps the ties to Paris, the Mediterranean world, and the Middle East are more pronounced in Algeria, but the idea of being multi-continental practitioners of the arts is ever more normal across the creative fields.

At the Museum of African Design, we constantly attempt to convince African designers living in New York and exhibiting in Paris to come for a project in South Africa. Even more difficult is to convince someone in another part of Africa who is actively trying to break into Europe or America, to see Johannesburg as an attractive space for exhibiting, working, or selling. When you introduce franco/alngo/lusophone barriers the connections seem more reluctant and difficult to forge.

When Amina Zoubir mentioned at dinner, that her father is a design curator in Algiers, I didn’t exactly believe her. How could there be design curators in Africa who we haven’t collaborated with? Without meeting in person and in really poorly written French emails to Hellal Zoubir, the vision for a “North” African exhibition in “Sub-Saharan” Africa was developed.

The uncanny collaboration between Algiers and Johannesburg shows (at least, I think), just how easy it can be to make amazing things happen when the right people are involved. We are truly indebted to Hellal for his willingness to propose a monumental exhibit in a museum he had never visited. I hope this is a sign of more “North” / “South” projects within the continent to develop. Aaron Kohn

Geography of Design

Amine BelkebirBorn on April 1987 ,22 in Tizi Ouzou, Amine Belkebir developed a pronounced sensitivity and attention to detail at a very young age, always working in neat drawings. He joined the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers in 2006 and graduated in December 2013, majoring in design development. He pays particular attention to functional design and craft production. Concerned about environmental causes and sustainable development, his work is part of a process of re-evaluation of the crafts and the promotion of cultural identity through the production of refined and simple furniture made of widely available raw materials, inspiring hope for a revitalization of the sector at a national level.

VARDA table and stool, lacquered Forex, varnished finitions115 x 80 x 35 cm / 57 x 30 x 35cm

2014

Hamida Benmansour

A graduate of the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers, Hamida Benmansour started her professional career in 1995 in a private agency specializing in the organization of festivals, installing TV sets and more. She then joined the company «Expo Sign» (formerly known as «Graphitech Services»). In 1999, Benmansour founded her own interior design agency «Origin Design» and was involved on a project of the Ministry of Finance. Since 2001, she designs and manufactures a number of projects, including works for the bank «Badr», the sports center Base Hassi Messaoud, school furniture, and more.

CASCADE chair, Valchromat200 x 80 x 40 cm

2015

Walid Bouchouchi

Walid Bouchouchi (1989) lives and works in Algiers. He graduated in Graphic Design from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers.His work has been shown nationally and internationally: in the International Contemporary Art Festival of Algiers (FIAC 2014) at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Algiers), the biennial Djart (Algiers 2014); as part of «The new Algerian art scene» at the Algeria Pavilion of the DAK›ART Biennale (Dakar 2014); «General Picturie II» Bathtub (Algiers 2014); «Akakir» French Institute (Tlemcen 2013); «Crossways / el Multaqa» Leighton House Museum (London, 2013); «YAA» Talmart Gallery (Paris, 2013); «General Picturie» space Artissimo (Algiers , ) ; 6th edition of ARTifariti (Tindouf 2012); «Media, Diversion and Recovery», an exhibition of a workshop animated by Mourad Krinah in Box 24 (Algiers 2012); «I Palestine» Bergson & Jung (Algiers 2009).

2013

P.L.O.T., Colored plastic, 20 x (50 x 25 x 25 cm), 2015.

Samir HamianeSamir Hamiane graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers and has participated in numerous exhibitions in Algeria and abroad, including: at the Palace of Culture, Bastion 23, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Algiers, gallery CEMA (Art Workshops of France), the ViA of Paris, the international Art Fairs in Paris, Marseilles and Strasbourg, Mania gallery Montreal (Canada), the design exhibition «The Passage» in Cologne, and more. His work has earned him several awards and honors such as the Golden Alpha at the International Exhibition in Valencia, Spain in 2000 and the First Prize for Best Algerian Craftsman he received twice, in 2003 and in 2008. Next to his own creations, Samir Hamiane also produces commissioned works such as the fresco for the new headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Algiers in 2011 and the fresco offered by Algeria to the decoration of the new headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa (2012).

QUINQUET, Ceramics, 120 cm, 2010.

Saïd Issadi

Saïd Issadi was born in 1985 in Larbaâ Nath Irathen, Tizi-Ouzou into a modest family in the mountainous regions of Kabylia from where he drew his inspiration and creativity. In 2006, after obtaining his baccalaureate, he began studying law. A choice that wasn’t drawn from his true passion, he decided to give up law after two years. Nevertheless, he was able to satisfy his desire to make art by following watercolor painting courses at the House of Culture in Tizi-Ouzou. His passion for the arts remaining strong, he decided to go to the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers, where he discovered the field of design. In 2008, Issadi started a course in interior design and after five years of brilliant studies, he received his degree. The design and contribution to the implementation of traffic signs and safety instructions of the newspaper El Moudjahid department in Algiers in June 2013 are among the many works he has made. The same year, in September, he designed an exhibition stand for the company Amimer Energy in Oran and did interior design work for individuals.

MANTE chair, Resin, hemp rope, synthetic foam 65 x 52 cm x 72 cm 2014

Mourad Krinah is a graphic designer and artist born in 1976. He studied graphic design at the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers where he graduated in 2006. He lives and works in Algiers. Krinah curated the exhibition «Nova Algerian art scene,» Place du Souvenir at the Dakar Biennial in 2014. He designed and curated the exhibition «Picturie générale I» at space Artissimo in Algiers in 2013, and the «Picturie générale II» exhibition at Bathtub in Algiers in 2014.He has also exhibited in «Trankat: Episode 2» at The Mill Art Center (The Toulon 2014); in «The New Algerian Art Scene» at the Place du Souvenir (Dakar 2014); «Picturie générale II» Bathtub (Algiers 2014); in «Algerian Designers” at the Arab World Institute of Paris (2012) and at 23 Bastion (Algiers 2013); in «Picturie générale I» at the Artissimo space (Algiers 2013); in «Newsfeed» at MoCADA (New York 2012); at the 2nd Mediterranean Biennial of Contemporary Art (Oran 2011); in «Identité(s)» at the Racim Gallery (Algiers 2011); at the 2nd Pan African Cultural Festival of Algiers (2009) and the BJCEM, Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (Bari 2008).

Mourad Krinah

UNTITLED WALLPAPER, digital print on paper, variable dimensions, 2014.

AMERICAN SNIPER WALLPAPER, digital print on paper, variable dimensions, 2015.

Leila Mammeri is an Algerian born in Rabat (Morocco) in 1962. She is a native of Beni Yenni (Taourirte Mimoune - an artists and craftsmen village) and lives in Bouzaréah, Algiers.

Mammeri graduated from the Technological Institute of Education for girls (Ben Aknoun, Algiers). From 1983 to 1989, she taught art at the Collège d’enseignement moyen (CEM). In 1994 she received a graduate arts degree in design management. Since 1994, she has been Professor and Tutor at the Institute of Training and Development (Hussein Dey). She worked as an assistant at the the Institute of Arts and Graphic Industries from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, she also worked at the ENS (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Bouzaréah) and the EPAU (Polytechnic School of Architecture and Urban Planning). Mammeri is also a part-time consultant for engineering offices as a designer.She took part in many exhibitions. «the Panafrican Festival» ( Algiers, 2009), and the International Contemporary Art Festival of Algiers (FIAC 2014) at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Algiers).

Leïla Mammeri

AMLILI, varnished Multiplied wood, Plexiglas box, 160 x 110 x 50 cm, 2012.

After obtaining a higher technician degree in architecture from the Inforba in 1988, Jamel Matari entered the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers in 1994 and obtained its DESA (a graduate degree) in design development. In 1997, he worked as a studio designer for a television program. In 1998, he was commissioned by the company «Ladpharma» to realize the packaging of their medicine boxes; then joined the team of «Decorex» as a designer. He worked with major retailers and digital milling machine operators, and received training in France in a large company specialized in signage. Designer, set designer and creator of stands, he produced exhibitions, from design to delivery, such as «Sahara» on behalf of the Ministry of Culture for «Algiers Capital of Arab Culture 2007» and «El Maoulid Ennabaoui Echariff and Nuba” for the “Tlemcen, Capital of Islamic Culture 2011”.

Jamel Matari

MATARIA coffee table, Thermoforming Black Corion, 120 x 76 x 35 cm, 2014.

Idir MessaoudIdir Messaoud is a visual artist, designer and Algerian interior designer born in 1988 in Tizi Ouzou. He graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers in 2013.Fascinated by spatial design, urban art and painting, he created and exhibited his works in galleries throughout Algeria. He was awarded the First Prize in the National Competition for Young interior designers in 2013 and the Fourth Prize in the National Competition for Young Architects «Golden Cart» in 2014. He collaborated with the studio of the architect Messaoudi Lounes (National Architecture Award in 2012) as a consultant in interior design. Messaoud has concentrated his work in space development, decor and movie props, as well as street furniture and furnishing for public spaces.

BEE baffle, epoxy resin, wood (beech), metal grille, 38 x 38 cm, 2015.

LITA coffe table, epoxy resin, iron, copper, polyurethane paint, 95 x 53 x 48 cm, 2015.

Algerian designer and artist Mohamed Ourrad was born in Rouiba in February 1961 ,25. He graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers in 1984, majoring in Design - Decor). He manages a workshop for the production of works of art. Ourrad participated in several exhibitions such as Maghreb New Design (2007) and the International Contemporary Art Festival of Algiers (FIAC 2014) at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Algiers. He lives and works in Algiers.

Mohamed Ourrad

POTY’2, copper and brass, 138 x 26 cm, 2015.

POTY’1, copper and brass, 127 x 26 cm, 2015.

Neila Rahil is an interior designer who lives and works in Algiers.She graduated in 2013 from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers, majoring in design development. She works as a project chief designer in a company specializing in the design and production of wooden furniture.

Neila Rahil

W-Light # 2, painted métal60 x 60 x 110 cm, 2015.

W-Light # 1, painted métal, 45 x 45 x 180 cm, 2015.

Yamo

Born in 1958 in Bou-Ismail̈, Yamo studied at the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Algiers (1982) and at the School of Decorative Arts in Paris in Industrial Design (1986) before graduating in furniture design (1988). He received among others the VIA scholarship in 1988, the Golden SM at the International Furniture Fair of Paris (1989) and the Oscar of the Union of Interior Designers. His works have been published by renowned publishers. In 1998, he founded his own agency in Tunis. He has exhibited his works and has developed installations in Algeria, France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Japan, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Senegal, the United States ...Since the beginning of his career, Yamo has been fascinated by light. He sculpts and dresses it with a variety of materials. He creates light and furniture with shapes that speak intensely; they evoke nature, the aquatic world or imaginary civilizations.Yamo is one of the most talented Algerian designers of his generation. Back in Algeria, he devotes himself fully to his craft and creates several projects.

À LA FOLIE chair, Lacquered resin, 90 x 50 x 50 cm, 2015.

HOUT necklace, white and yellow gold, Ø20 cm, 2010.

Radia Zitouni

From her childhood in Algiers where she was born, she spent her free time learning and practicing drawing and painting. Passionate about design and everything that is creative and manual, it puts its expertise to the design and interior decoration.In 2013, finally able to support his deep desire, a graduate of Interior Design at the School of Fine Arts of Algiers. Her technique is centered on color and form, inspired by the great masters of contemporary design, like Philippe Starck, Karim Rashid, Matali Crasset and many others, an inexhaustible source of inspiration.The modularity, the space saving solutions and ideas for optimizing space are a creation of the kind that calls out.It would seek to make the daily life more convenient, enjoyable and full of ingenuity.It also plans to regularly participate in artistic events to help you better discover his creations, meet people who are interested in the arts.

B U C H E T T E S , forex, cardboard and balloons, 80 x 80 x 40 cm, 2 0 1 4 .

Hellal ZOUBIR is a painter and designer. He studied at the Society of Fine Arts in Algiers (1967-1966) and he was graduated from the National School of Architecture and Fine Arts in Algiers (1970-1967) and the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris in interior architecture (1974-1970). He obtained a post-graduate degree in Fine Arts from the University Paris-St Denis (1988), a Magister in History and Theory of Arts at the Superior School of Fine Arts at Algiers, 2002). He teaches interior architecture, furniture design & development (2002 -1990) at the Superior School of Fine Arts in Algiers (2010-1977). Director of Studies at the Superior School of Fine Arts in Algiers (1992-1983), he produced in 1985 the transfer of the National School of Fine Arts in a higher education institution (graduation & post-graduation). Director of the Department of Plastic Arts at the «Commissioner of the Year of Algeria» in France in 2004-2002) 2003). He is a permanent gallery of Isma (Algiers from 1986 to 2013). He is a member of the group of 35 painters and Essebaghine group (Algiers -20002004). He stayed at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (1972). He realizes the fresco of Algiers faculties tunnel duet with Malek Salah painter. He curated numerous exhibitions (Contemporary African Art - Maghreb and African design at the Museum of Modern Art in Algiers for «The Arab Year» in 2007, and «the Panafrican Festival» in 2009, and «The Algerian Designer» at the Arab World Institute, IMA in Paris in 2012. He is a member of the National Council of Arts and Letters (2015-2012) & Chairman of the National Commission for Assistance to the Arts & Humanities (2014-2013). His works are parts of prestigious art collection: the National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers, Zabana museum at Oran, the Presidency of the Republic (Algiers), the Ministry of Culture (Algiers) at the Embassy of France (Algiers), El Salvador museum Allende in Santiago (Chile), at the Arab Hispano Institute of the Kingdom of Spain, and in many private collections in Algeria and abroad (France, Belgium, United States, Spain, Italy).

Hellal Zoubir

The MM. Mourad Krinah and Hellal Zoubir with the designer Samir Hamiane and Lastar Communication Team (manufacturer of the crates and packaging) at Dar Abdeltif, Algiers).