Leer Nañ (Spotlight)
by Yataal Art
Leer Nañ (Spotlight) is a community garden project by Yataal Art at the Soumbédioune elementary school in the historical district of the Medina.
In collaboration with the school’s students, Yataal Art transforms discarded school furniture into raised gardening beds and sculptures. The planters use a solar irrigation system to grow local herbs and vegetables for the students to bring home to their families, and the sculptures will designate the garden as a gathering space for the community.
To celebrate the opening of the garden and the rehabilitation of Soumbédioune’s public space, Yataal Art staged a parade through the surrounding neighborhood that featured live mural painting sessions, sabars (drum and dance performances), and rollerblading demonstrations.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yataal Art, which means “Expanding Art” in Wolof, is an association for cultural, social, and artistic action that was founded in 2010 by Mamadou Boye Diallo. It supports projects that promote and preserve the historic district of the Medina in Dakar.
Yataal Art’s most acclaimed projects include The Open Air Museum, an ongoing initiative that welcomes artists from all over the world to paint frescoes on the deteriorated walls of homes, and “Dakar Brut,” a walking tour featuring artworks displayed in traditional houses. Yataal Art strives to strengthen accessibility to art for all, both through the diversity of content it offers and through its openness to the world and to exchanges it initiates.
