RAW Académie session 11

What is RAW Académie
RAW Academie is an experimental residential program for the study and research of artistic and curatorial practice and thought. The program usually takes place over five to seven weeks in Dakar. It is dedicated to dynamic reflection on artistic research, curatorial practice, and critical writing. The Academie runs for 1 session per year; May-June or October-November. Session 11 will be led by Felwine Sarr, writer and Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University. It will run from June 2 to July 4, 2025.

A Sense of Place/Displacement, Replacement, Non-placement
RAW Académie Session 11 builds on the compelling reflections initiated during Condition Report 5: A Sense of Place/Displacement, Replacement, Non-placement, an international symposium developed in collaboration with Prof. Felwine Sarr. The symposium explored how places embody histories, connections, and energies that are often invisible but deeply felt. It asked how such presences can be nurtured, sustained, and transformed in a world increasingly marked by displacement and environmental, social, and political upheaval.

This session of the Academie provides an important opportunity to further develop these questions through a series of seminars and to critically engage with the complex relationship between people and the places they inhabit, exploring how identity, memory, and creativity intersect with the material and immaterial dimensions of place. 

Central to this endeavor is the need to rethink the fundamental rights of belonging and access in a world marked by displacement and exclusion. Hospitality, often understood as a gesture of inclusion, here transcends its conventional meanings to become an ethical and philosophical imperative - a lens through which we interrogate borders, identity, and the politics of presence. 

These reflections naturally extend to the urban context, where cities like Dakar serve as both archives of memory and laboratories of transformation. Urban environments shape and are shaped by the people who inhabit them. As sites of cultural transmission and community resilience, cities offer fertile ground for examining how collective memory and adaptive strategies can coexist with the demands of modernisation and sustainability. 

The session also addresses the transformative potential of place-based education. By embracing learning practices grounded in local ecosystems, histories, and communities, it seeks to dismantle hierarchical knowledge systems. This approach strengthens Indigenous practices and relational ways of knowing, emphasising the interconnectedness of people and their environments. 

At a time when the global climate crisis looms large, the question of how we live in shared environments takes on new urgency. This seminar examines how human and non-human life can coexist in balance, exploring community-led ecological practices that prioritise sustainability and justice. Rather than focusing on the overwhelming consequences of environmental degradation, the focus will be on examples of care and stewardship that respect biodiversity and resist extractivist logics.

Finally, it invites reflection on the invisible threads that weave the essence of place. These intangible connections - embodied in collective memory, oral traditions, and spiritual practices - anchor communities in their histories while providing tools for resilience.. 

The curriculum of the session will be shaped weekly by an exceptional group of visiting faculty whose research and practice span a range of disciplines and offer rich insights into how these issues intersect with history, culture, and social practice. It will include anthropologist and historian Abdourahmane Seck; architect and anthropologist Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou; historian and exhibition maker Samia Henni; interdisciplinary historian, activist and social and political organiser Dr Sónia Vaz Borges (To be confirmed); researcher, designer and architectural educator Mae-ling Lokko; and finally Alibeta, musician, curator & founder of Kenu - Lab’Oratoire des Imaginaires.

Follow via the hashtag #RAWAcademie11.

About Felwine Sarr
Felwine Sarr is a Senegalese writer and scholar. He is the Anne-Marie Bryan Distinguished Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University in North Carolina, after teaching at the Université Gaston Berger in Saint-Louis, Senegal, where he is a tenured professor and associate professor of economics. His academic work focuses on the ecology of knowledge, contemporary African philosophy, economic policy, epistemology, economic anthropology, and the history of religious ideas. In 2016, together with the historian Achille Mbembé, he founded the Ateliers de la pensée de Dakar. He is the author of several books, including Dahij (Gallimard 2009), 105 Rue Carnot (Mémoire d’Encrier 2011), Afrotopia (Philippe Rey 2016), Écrire l’Afrique-monde (co-edited with Achille Mbembé, Philippe Rey 2017), Restituer le patrimoine africain (Philippe Rey/Seuil) with Benedicte Savoy, and Politique des temps (co-edited with Achille Mbembé, Philippe Rey 2019). He is co-publisher with Jimsaan of the 2021 Goncourt Prize winner La plus secrète mémoire des hommes by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr.

About RAW Material Company 
RAW Material Company is a center for art, knowledge and society in Dakar, Senegal. It is an initiative involved with curatorial practice, artistic education, residencies, knowledge production and the archiving of theory and criticism on art. It works to foster appreciation for and growth of artistic and intellectual creativity in Africa. The program is trans-disciplinary and is equally informed by literature, film, architecture, politics, fashion, cuisine and diaspora.

Application process
RAW Académie is a tuition-free experimental study program. A maximum of ten fellows are selected for each session. The application process is online only and runs from February 4 to March 9, 2025.

The selection committee for Session 11 comprises the lead faculty, Prof. Felwine Sarr & the curatorial team of RAW Material Company. Only short-listed applicants will be notified and invited for an online interview, the final selection will be made by March 24. Please apply here in English and here in French. 

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RAW Partners
RAW Material Company would like to acknowledge the valuable support of the Mellon Foundation, Little Sun, Community Arts Network (CAN), and the Creative Industries Fund NL. We’re also deeply grateful to Arts Collaboratory and Parcourts, cultural ecosystems of which RAW is a member, for their contribution to the research process and intellectual growth.