The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, Sinthian, Senegal
The Residency
Thread is located in Sinthian, a rural village in the Tambacounda region of southeastern Senegal — more than eight hours from Dakar by car, designed by world-renowned Toshiko Mori Architects and built by local craftspeople. A joint project of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa, Thread provides artists with time and studio space while functioning as a hub for agricultural training, cultural programming, and community life.
In September 2019, Ryan Cronin was selected by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation to participate in the residency. He arrived with decades of practice, a deep engagement with socially conscious public art, and a longstanding connection to Senegal — having first traveled to West Africa in June 2018 with Go Doc Go, an international NGO working to prevent cervical cancer globally.
The Work
Cronin arrived with a foundation — his own brushes, sheets of plywood pre-cut in New York to fit into his checked luggage, and six pieces of fine art paper — enough of what he knew to give himself a base from which to create. Everything else he remained open to. On site he worked with Loubane, a locally available paint that became central to the work.
Over thirty days he produced a significant body of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper — including Flag, composed of repurposed aluminum cans painted with found oil paint and assembled into the form of the Senegalese flag; Tamba-Counda, a 48"x84" modular panel painting inspired by the vivid patterns and colors of the market storefronts he encountered while exploring the city; and 30 Days in Senegal, a five-drawing diary series documenting each day of the residency in his signature visual language — bunnies, arrows, stars, bold typography, and the symbols of daily life in Sinthian.
Beyond the Studio
Cronin packed three bags for the trip. One with clothes. One with art supplies. And one with lacrosse sticks he had accumulated over years as a coach — on the chance that the game might cross the language barrier. It did. Within days, the community in Sinthian had embraced both the game and Ryan wholeheartedly. By the end of the residency, the phrase he heard echoing back to him most was "very nice" — the same encouragement he had been offering from the start.
That experience planted a seed. Art4Lax was born from it — an initiative dedicated to supporting the growth of lacrosse in Senegal and exploring how art and sport can intertwine, collaborate, and create something neither could alone.
Pictured here: the original group of kids who first picked up a lacrosse stick in Sinthian.
PARTNERSHIPS
