Therme Art Program presents Tugunora, designed by famed architect Francis Kéré, at 4141

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Therme Art Program, in collaboration with Dacra, was pleased to bring Tugunora – designed by famed architect Francis Kéré – to 4141 Design in collaboration with Dacra. Tugunora was initially commissioned by Therme Art Program as a site-specific theatre environment for the installment of the Therme Forum talks series at Design Miami/ in December 2018.

For the Miami installment of Therme Forum, Therme Art Program and Design Miami/ co-curated three panel discussions on sustainability, body and art in design, architecture and urban planning:

  • Social Sculpture: Sustainability and Social Systems, featuring panelists Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Nikolai Haas and Simon Haas, Francis Kéré and Claudia Paetzold
  • Designing Free-space and Curating Free Time, featuring panelists Studio Drift, Marc Glimcher, Robert C. Hanea, Roth (Eduardo Neira), Michaela de Pury and Studio Swine
  • Back to the Body: Human-oriented Forms in Art, Design and Architecture, featuring panelists Virgil Abloh, Torkwase Dyson, Arthur Jafa, Francis Kéré, Grace Wales Bonner and Hans Ulrich Obrist (Moderator).

Kéré’s design for Tugunora blends inspiration from the ancient Greek agora, a public space for assembly and discussion, and the Burkinabè tuguna, the traditional gathering space in West African villages—providing an ideal environment to foster discourse around contemporary art, design, architecture, and city planning.

The collaboration between Therme Art Program and Francis Kéré’s studio, along with the Tugunora’s relocation to the Miami Design District, represents the latest in a series of architectural projects at the core of Therme Group’s mission—to work with artists and architects in developing large-scale projects that challenge the limitations of conventional exhibition spaces, reaching wide and diverse audiences.

As both a symbolic and functional space for public gathering, Tugunora underscores Therme Art Program’s continued support of communal environments and will continue to be a part of Therme Art Program’s programming after its display at 4141 Design.

“We see design in its broader dimension, in accordance with our company’s strong belief in the connection between ethics and aesthetics. We want to connect conversations around the design of objects, architectural strategies and urban planning, because all of these provide a framework for human interactions and relationships. This human dimension is exactly what the architecture of Francis Kéré represents for us”

Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Therme Art Program Curator.

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