PENC MI (public area) / work in progress: Scenarios for a shared public space

Within the framework of the interuniversity agreement between the University of Málaga and the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) of Dakar, I direct a pedagogical and exhibition program that includes the publication of a digital catalog for my solo exhibition titled PENC MI (área pública) / trabajo en proceso: Escenarios para un ágora compartida [PENC MI (Public Area) / Work in Progress: Scenarios for a Shared Agora], which will be presented at the Instituto Cervantes in Dakar.

On July 9, 2026, the Instituto Cervantes in Dakar will present PENC MI (Área pública) / Trabajo en proceso: Escenarios para un ágora compartida by the undersigned, Juan Carlos Robles. The project, a non-extractive "work in progress," features the collaboration of creators from the École Nationale des Arts (ENA) of Senegal. The exhibition redefines the center's gardens and exhibition hall as a public square for community deliberation and critical thinking. The core of the exhibition is a video installation in progress, approximately 45 minutes long with a 7.5-meter-wide screen, recorded at the Grand Théâtre National Doudou Ndiaye Coumba Rose and at various locations across the Senegalese capital. This video installation piece captures a performative assembly in which creators from the École Nationale des Arts (ENA), alongside Dean Aboubekr Thiam, discuss the emancipation of images from a decolonial perspective.

The project's title directly refers to the Wolof term Penc Mi, which designates the traditional space dedicated to community deliberation and conflict resolution. Conceived under a non-extractive and return-oriented philosophy, the project breaks the boundaries of the screen: following the screening, visitors and the video's protagonists will continue the deliberation in real time. This process of horizontal listening and collective validation in Senegal underpins the technical and conceptual production of the exhibition.

The catalog contains a text by the artist along with images of the works: PENC MI (área pública) trabajo en proceso, Hablando al Mundo, Khone, Khone Danza, Pharmacie Ouakam, as well as images of the creative process.

The catalog is bilingual in Spanish and French.