The village of Sintian is located in the poorest area of the country, suffering from constant water shortages. Its 700 residents have been helped by American philanthropists for a significant time - in collaboration with local community leaders. This is how the first kindergarten appeared there: its teachers are paid by the American Friends of Le Korsa (AFLK) Foundation, which also operates the village health center and disseminates information about new agricultural methods to the local population.
Now the turn has come to culture: The Joseph and Annie Albers Foundation from Kentucky has created and plans to maintain
Cultural Center and Art Residence Thread. The name of the center is translated from English as "thread" - it is both a metaphor for the connecting role of culture and creativity in society, and a reference to the Bauhaus graduate artist Annie Albers, who worked a lot as a textile master.
The cultural center includes two art residences for artists, filmmakers, writers, choreographers from all over the world, who will be able to get to know Senegalese culture up close and possibly collaborate with the villagers. There are also two studios and a spacious multifunctional space, which is primarily intended for the local population: it can host meetings, performances, parties, small fairs, educational events and so on. For the first six months Thread will work exclusively for the residents of Sintian, and only then will the first invited artists appear there.
Toshiko Mori designed the cultural center building for free. The project is based on the traditions of folk architecture, but supplements them with modern ideas; During the construction, architects and engineers collaborated with Senegalese craftsmen and used only local materials. For example, a bamboo-framed thatched roof with steep ramps is typical for village buildings, but in the case of Thread, it also serves to collect rainwater, the total volume of which will cover 40% of the residents' household needs (about 900,000 liters per year). During the collection process, water flows through small channels in the interior of the building, delimiting functional areas. Among other things, this type of rainwater harvesting is safer than currently practiced methods, as well as local wells.
The openwork brick walls are also typical of Senegal: they provide natural ventilation to the premises, but in this case Mori designed them, and one of the sources of inspiration for her was the work of Josef Albers.
The floor in the main space of the center is covered with mosaics created by village craftsmen on their own initiative. The material for it was shards of locally produced multicolored ceramic tiles.
