We decided to use the next edition of S.U.D. (Salon Urbain de Douala) in Douala as a case study. We have tried to define the different components or ingredients that would help the event to be shaped according to the producer expectations. A couple of questions were immediately raised in order to try to draw the main lines around which to organize the reflection. On of the first statement was that the exhibition in Douala is a pretext to raise the level of awareness in the audience/community on two levels: that of the contemporary practices and that of their environment and history. A useless exhibition would have no reason in Douala. A global definition of what an exhibition could be was proposed: a show conceived by “specialists” with an outreach towards the larger audience regardless the social conditions. In a more theoretical level, there is a parallel between conceiving an exhibition and building archives. There are three major steps: gathering of contents, production and translation (education, display, adding value).

The gathering of contents, in the case of Doual’art, does not only consist in selecting artists but thinking globally the context, the audience and the display at the same time. There are two levels of addressing the issues involved: on a macro-level or on a micro-level. The first step of the process could, therefore, consist in using the archives as a departure point. But that process cannot be implemented randomly. It needs the mediation of a “disc-jockey” who would provide a “play list” that could be used by the artists and all the producers involved in the process. The archives could also help to edit a textbook that would become an educational tool. The textbook could be imagined not as a tourist guide, but as an anthropological item (Livingstone). The Livingston element leads to the necessity to think about the project as an interactive tool that could be played on different modes (tricks, cheats and play). The explanatory process should be avoided.

The exhibition is a moment in time, but it has to be considered in its full dimension which requires a “before” and an “after”. The notion of continuity, as well as that of repetition (the return of the same in different forms), is a key to learning process. The attention span is really important: concerning Douala or Dakar, we must “design” the participation of people to the exhibition. Individuals, small groups, organisations (classes, associations) must be the result of a choice. Are we talking to the avant-garde or to the crowd? The exhibition is to be conveyor of knowledge and discussion. It has to occupy the public spaces and to address a non-initiated audience. The question of digital data, not only as a tool but also as an element of display may be problematic (some people may prefer a video of a sculpture rather than a sculpture itself, but it is not enough).

The knowledge is a key element in the process. How is it produces and how is it disseminated? Knowledge is both a form a storage and a form of performance. The example of the conveyor belt could apply but there are a couple of problems in the form of transmission that it supposes. How to communicate knowledge through an exhibition in a one to one relationship? One solution could be to play with concept and metaphor (create a kind of a black market of knowledge), but, considering the targeted audience, this would not work, because that audience is in need of formal knowledge through classical tools. The also need to experience a certain level of togetherness in order to avoid passive attitudes. The exhibition should be a problem posed to everyone and to be solved. Should raise issues without necessarily giving an answer. That is where the audience can contribute in finding solutions (crowd sourcing). A playful element should be integrated.

An exhibition is always conceived and built around an audience. In Douala or Dakar, It is fundamental to include the audience as an actor and the exhibition as a process that evolves through the participation of both the producer and the viewer in a one to one relationship. The audience must not be considered like a uniform entity, but rather addressed in small groups. People will have to dedicate a moment of their life to attend the exhibition, not as passive voyeur, but as active parts of the process. Therefore we must not consider the audience as a generic crowd but as a sum of particular interest. Therefore, the audience must become a kind of a translator, because translation is in itself a learning experience and an example of knowledge acquisition.

Examples of tools that could be used:

• a quiz that would be designed for the public with a result that could be used in the process or exhibited as an element of the “exhibition”
• electronic boards that would be displayed in the city and on which people could send messages concerning the “exhibition” and issues raised
• a radio station (to record and display voices/witness); the example of the “Listening Post” by artists Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin at the Whitney Museum was evoked, as or Paul de Marinis “Rain Dance” are experiences to reflect on) with mapping of the invisible (the water in the city)
• recorded memories and experiences linked to water in Douala
• one platform could be the curriculum that one produces, what one has learned over a period of time (“The CV is everything”).