ILÊ – What is home to you?

WORKSHOP 15.09.2026 15:00
WITH Ayọ̀kàndé [Vilanismo]
FREE ENTRY Donations welcome
LANGUAGE The workshop takes place in Portuguese with English
ACCESS SAVVY is accessible by wheelchair
PARTICIPATION The workshop is open to all, no experiences with drawing needed. Due to limited capacity, kindly send an email with subject line "Ilê" to workshop@savvy-contemporary.com.
Based on Ayọ̀kàndé's artwork ILÊ – What is home to you? in our current exhibition, this workshop takes its point of departure from the word Ilé, which means house or home in Yoruba. During the mounting process it met the Polish word ile, which means “how much?”. We invite you to a collective reflection on home, belonging and collectivity. We will begin with an observation of the artwork and of the materials that constitute it, especially the wood already present in the space, preserved in its marks, holes and cracks. Starting from the question “What is home to you?”, participants will be invited to share their own experiences and relationships with the idea of home, bringing different languages, histories and places into dialogue. Next, using words, lines, shapes and available materials, the group will create a collective artwork, understanding construction as a possibility of creating new meanings for materials and previous experiences. At the end, participants will share their productions and return to the artwork to reflect on what they have built together, understanding home as a place built through love and collectivity.
PORTUGUÊS
A partir da obra ILÊ O que é casa pra você? Proponho um workshop que parte da palavra Ilé, que em iorubá significa casa ou lar, e do encontro com a palavra ile, que em polonês significa “quanto”, para criar uma reflexão coletiva sobre casa, pertencimento e coletividade. A atividade será realizada a partir da observação da obra e dos materiais que a constituem, especialmente as madeiras já existentes no espaço, preservadas em suas marcas, furos e rachaduras. A partir da pergunta “O que é casa pra você?”, os participantes serão convidados a compartilhar suas próprias experiências e relações com a ideia de casa, colocando em diálogo diferentes línguas, histórias e lugares. Na sequência, utilizando palavras, linhas, formas e materiais disponíveis, o grupo realizará uma produção artística coletiva, compreendendo a construção como uma possibilidade de criar novos sentidos para materiais e experiências anteriores. Ao final, os participantes compartilharão suas produções e retornarão à obra para pensar sobre aquilo que construímos juntos, entendendo a casa como um lugar que se constrói com amor e coletividade.
COLLABORATION This project is part of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo’s travelling exhibitions programme, held since 2011. The travelling exhibitions have become a fundamental extension of the Bienal de São Paulo, enabling the works and debates presented at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion to be reconfigured in dialogue with diverse local contexts, activating new readings and relationships with audiences beyond the main exhibition axis. In its 36th edition, this movement reaches fifteen new territories across Brazil and internationally.
The Berlin Edition of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo will be on view at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) from 12 September to 6 December 2026. The exhibition Not All Travellers Walk Roads—Of Humanity as Practice opens there on 11 September 2026 [more details here].
SUPPORT The project is supported by the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, the Berlin Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, SAVVY friends e.V., Zielinsky Gallery, and private donors.

The opening of Architectural Echotones. A Poetics Of The Surrounds takes place as part of Berlin Art Week.

