bauhaus imaginista: Moving Away

For the exhibition chapter "Moving Away", architect Zvi Efrat (Tel Aviv) presents his short film produced specifically for the project, which traces Sharon’s design of the University of Ife campus (today’s Obafemi Awolowo University).

Through its international students, the Bauhaus itself was also influenced by global debates. In 1931, after completing his studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Israeli architect Arieh Sharon returned to Palestine where he was appointed head of the State Planning Authority. In this role, he was responsible for developing new cities for Jewish refugees and postwar immigrants. In addition, he was involved in Israel’s development aid programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa. For the exhibition chapter Moving Away, architect Zvi Efrat (Tel Aviv) presents his short film produced specifically for the project, which traces Sharon’s design of the University of Ife campus (today’s Obafemi Awolowo University) at Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, built in 1962 as part of an Israeli development assistance program in West Africa. The film offers a critical look at postcolonial campus concepts and critical curricula for the subjects of art, architecture, and design at a time when independence was an aspiration in Africa as was state formation. The ensuing symposium aims to initiate a discussion between local and international architects, artists, and designers on the decolonization of design practices and curricula.