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Making of an Artisans’ Valley (2021)

The Gounti Yenna Valley has long divided Niger’s capital city of Niamey into two. In the 1800s, this division was between the French colonizers and local citizens. Today, the valley divides the city along the wealth gap. With the Artisans Valley project, Mariam Issoufou aims to build a new social contract for how Niamey’s citizens might experience the valley, as a place for unity instead of division. For the Venice Architecture Biennial 2021 curated by Hashim Sarkis, the proposal for the the Artisans Valley came to life, for the first time, as a walking tour - both physically and metaphorically - through the work of Niger’s Tuareg artisans. The site-specific installation was inspired by the year’s theme: How Will We Live Together?