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‘People will forget what you said, they’ll forget what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.’ MAYA ANGELOU
Benin | 2025 | Sculpture, design
Awadakpèkpè
In Ganvié, a lakeside village on Lake Nokoué in Benin, children express their territory through drawing, colour and patterns. Pirogues and sails become canvases for shared expression and creation.
Living on the lake
Living on the lake
In southern Benin, 30 kilometres from Cotonou, Ganvié is a lakeside town on Lake Nokoué. Founded in the 18th century by people fleeing slave raids, it is a major part of Benin’s heritage. The organisation of the town, which now has a population of nearly 50,000, is entirely based on water: houses on stilts, travel by pirogue, economic activities linked to the lake. Despite a strong cultural identity, the availability of spaces and facilities dedicated to artistic creation remains limited, particularly for children and teenagers.
Artist
Mahugnon Sognigbé Aka Cortex Asquith S., with a team of designers, artists and craftspeople
Mahugnon Sognigbé Aka Cortex Asquith S., with a team of designers, artists and craftspeople
Partners
National Agency for Heritage Promotion and Tourism Development (ANPT), Lobozounkpa Cultural Centre, French Institute of Cotonou, local authorities
National Agency for Heritage Promotion and Tourism Development (ANPT), Lobozounkpa Cultural Centre, French Institute of Cotonou, local authorities
Participants
59 children and teenagers, with broad involvement from families in Ganvié
59 children and teenagers, with broad involvement from families in Ganvié
Agency
AFD Benin
AFD Benin
The lake as a workshop
8
weeks of workshops
59
children and teenagers involved
3
artistic disciplines mobilised
Designer and visual artist Mahugnon Sognigbé Aka Cortex Asquith S has developed a practice that combines visual creation, research and transmission. With the Awadakpèkpè project, he is setting up a series of art workshops for young people in Ganvié.
The first workshop focuses on narrative illustration: participants create stories inspired by their everyday environment, and the results are then printed in booklets, stickers and playing cards. The second workshop is devoted to textile design: patterns are painted on cotton sheets, which are then used as sails for the boats at the floating market. The third workshop involves painting taxi boats with patterns inspired by the history and founding stories of the lakeside city. The children mainly paint animal figures, such as sparrowhawks and crocodiles. These patterns are inspired by the legend that the founder of Ganvié transformed himself into a bird and then a reptile to guide his people to the protective waters of Lake Nokoué.
The boats thus become mobile works of art, circulating on the lake like so many stories in motion.
This initiative supports the efforts of local authorities to promote the heritage and attractiveness of the region and to use creativity as a lever for transmission and emancipation.
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