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Niamey Cultural Center (2021)

Located in the lush Gounti Yenna Valley of Niger’s capital, the Niamey Cultural Center will fill a void in a city with a dearth of cultural venues and outlets. Most importantly, it will provide a place for learning, for dreaming, a place of levity that draws its programme from local community conversations about culture, traditions and aspirations. The project’s concept takes inspiration from Hausa and Songhai traditional architecture. The Niamey Cultural Center was designed by Mariam Issoufou during her two years in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Models of the project were exhibited inside the Rolex Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennial 2021.