Middle Ground: Hargeysa International Book Fair

The starting point for the stage scenography of the literature festival were the artefacts brought from the Hargeysa Cultural Centre. My task was to integrate the artefacts into a stage design, without displaying them like isolated museum pieces. To show their everyday use without creating an ethnological replica.
The goal of the design is to reference without recreating.

The scenography is intended to place the artifacts in a context reminiscent of the Aqal, a traditional somali hut. I designed an abstract and stylized version of the hut. Instead of hanging or setting up the works alone, they are incorporated like decoration into the hut. The basic feeling that the structures, colors and shapes are meant to convey is "home". A feeling of comfort and security, like every home, whether a house, cabin, hut or apartment, has.

Photo Credit(1,3,4,5,6): Silke Briel HKW
Photo Credit(2): Malte Seidel HKW