"Synthetic Agencies" by THINK TANGER

What are the driving forces behind major transformations in our cities and societies? This panel invites us to reflect, from an urban planning perspective, on a number of issues relating to ecology, climate, over-consumption and new technologies, which impact on the movements at play in urban ecosystems. For this Talk, Hicham Bouzid invites two researchers and architects Nzinga Mboup and Ali T As'ad, both involved, through their different practices, in dissecting the complex realities of our various territories to better understand the synthetic agencies that govern us.‍‍

Think Tangier

Think Tangier is a cultural platform that explores the social and spatial issues surrounding the urbanization of Tangier. Through visual arts, design, participatory research and urban practices, Think Tanger aims to enrich personal and collective urban experience. Their programs include StudioCity creative workshops, Talks, exhibitions, artistic residencies, and an annual magazine, Makan, which documents their activities and reflects the city's metamorphoses. 

Nzinga Biegueng Mboup

Nzinga Biegueng Mboup is a registered Senegalese architect and co-founder of Worofila, an architectural practice specializing in bioclimatic design and construction using locally sourced earth and bio-based materials. In over 6 years, Worofila has completed a dozen projects ranging from residential to public facilities, including research and collaboration with numerous scientific and institutional players, with the aim of promoting sustainable architecture in harmony with the climate.

In addition to her architectural practice, Nzinga has worked as an independent researcher for the Ghana-based African Futures Institute and since 2017 has co-directed two research projects, Dakarmorphose and Habiter Dakar, which interrogate Dakar's architectural and urban heritage with the aim of defining a new approach to architecture and the city rooted in Senegal's cultures and history. 

Ali T As'ad: 

Ali T. As'ad is a multidisciplinary researcher, writer, curator, educator and architect based in Amsterdam. He is currently working on a PhD in architectural history and theory, in which he examines the praxis of Palestinian exhibition making and museum practices as part of a wider investigation into the incongruity between the political space of the state and the cultural space of the nation in the 21st-century condition.

Hicham Bouzid

Hicham Bouzid is an art director, editor and curator based in Tangier, Morocco. With over 13 years' experience collaborating with national and international cultural and artistic institutions and foundations, his work explores the complex interplay between Morocco's urban and social landscapes, influenced by the neoliberal policies of the last twenty-five years.

In 2016, Hicham co-founded Think Tanger, an innovative cultural organization working at the crossroads of contemporary art, design, participatory research and urbanism. Under the Think Tanger umbrella, Hicham runs three venues: the Tanger Print Club (Publishing Workshop), an art residency and most recently the Kiosk - a brand new venue dedicated to art and innovation in his hometown. Alongside these initiatives, he has launched Makan, an annual cultural magazine focusing on socio-urban issues.