Sarafadeen Bello

Sarafadeen Bello

Multidisciplinary artist (Architect, Artistic researcher and Cultural facilitator)

Lagos, Nigeria.

Artist in Residence at Rote Fabrik from July to September 2024.

Sarafadeen is a Nigerian multidisciplinary artist with an educational background in Architecture, based in Lagos. His medium of expression is through text, essays, research, design and installations. And his interests span across architecture, urban design, food systems, theatre, culture, social inclusion and public realm participation.

Fascinated and haunted by plastic materials, Sarafadeen will continue his research into food systems with his project ‘Plastic Foodtures – Transitioning from hunter-farmers to cleaner-carers’.

The project focuses on the fishing and seafood industry; an essential part of the global blue economy, the way of life Nigerian/ Swiss people and a source of protein in daily diets of both countries. While people in Switzerland fish for pleasure as well as professionally; in Nigeria, fishing is regarded mainly as a form of livelihood and source of income. However, in both societies the industry is under threat.

Plastic Foodtures examines the precarious future of our marine ecosystems that are presently being affected by climate change and polluted by human activities, plastics, fishing gears etc. A future where the roles of fisher(wo)men have been redefined by queered reproductive fish cycles, altered marine food chains, a climate emergency and the need to build resilience.

Alongside his project, he will further develop his practice exploring themes of decolonization, repatriation and restitution. What would it mean for cultural artefacts and heritage objects housed in Swiss Institutions to be restituted? And what forms of exchanges and dialogues must be had? Sarafadeen is interested in the Rietberg Museum and looks forward to learning and exploring its Africa art Archive, visiting the Dialogue with Benin: Art, Colonialism and Restitution exhibition and engaging with its curators.

He also hopes to learn about the arts ecosystem and artist community in Switzerland thereby fostering future exchanges between Nigerian and Swiss artists.

Coaching by Martina Huber (https://www.weareaia.ch) and Katharina Riedl (https://rethinkmaterials.org/de/kollektiv)

Realised by IG Rote Fabrik and Pro Helvetia Johannesburg

https://prohelvetia.ch/de/unsere-aussenstellen/pro-helvetia-johannesburg/