S+T+ARTS Prize Africa
Award of Distinction

Sands Of Time: Walls We Can Walk Through

Ala Praxis (NG)

Sands of Time: Walls We Can Walk Through is an architectural, multi-sensory installation that explores the delicate relationship between urban expansion and environmental degradation in Dar es Salaam. This immersive installation invites participants into a space where the boundaries between present and future blur, drawing them into the narrative of sand—a vanishing resource that supports the city’s rapid development while simultaneously eroding coastlines, destroying habitats, and displacing communities. 

Utilizing interactive projections, sound, photography, text, found object art, animation, and experimental construction techniques, the experience looks into the dual nature of sand: a vital building block of modern cities and a force of destruction when extracted irresponsibly. The work looks into the tension between Dar es Salaam’s vibrant coastal life and the growing threat of environmental collapse, emphasizing the delicate balance endangered by unchecked sand extraction.  

More than just presenting sand mining as an environmental issue, Sands of Time: Walls We Can Walk Through frames it as a deeply human crisis. The installation offers space for contemplation, asking whether the future will be defined by a landscape of ruin or by alternatives where development, participation, and sustainability coexist.  

Ultimately, the project serves as both a cautionary tale and a vision of possibility. It urges us to look beneath the surface of rapid urbanization to confront its far-reaching consequences—for the coastlines we shape and the communities whose livelihoods depend on it. 

www.alapraxis.com/
starts.eu/starts4africa-residencies-call-for-artists-sands-of-time/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-K7QswE2lY

This project was realized through the STARTS4AFRICA project co-funded by the European Union under the STARTS – Science, Technology and Arts initiative of DG CNECT (GA no. LC-01960720). 

Residency hosts: INOVA+, Nafasi Art Space

Ala Praxis: Philip Fagbeyiro, Peace Olatunji, Timilehin Osanyintolu, Jadesola Olaniyan, Noah Okwudini, Josh Egesi  

Installation and construction: Mufaddal Nagree, Abubakari Ibondo, Salamu Abdala, Haji China, Siyani Mponda, Imanueli Sanga, Omari Hamis, Acley Mwalusamba  

Technical support: Bukunmi Oyedapo  

Sound, audio & translation: John Kitime, Salma Munde, Rhoda Kambenga  

Curatorial research and support: Jesse Mpango, Mariam Gichan Athman, George Freemason Msuya

Animation: Gwamaka Mwabuka, Dianne-Maryline Charles, Shalom Micky, Ally Mtandilla, Efraim Lyimo, Tai Animations Studio

Special thanks to: Patricia Carvalho, Dr. Nadine Siegert, Chinyere Obieze, Kija Malanguka, Rhoda Kambenga, Sian Parkinson, Tamara Silver, Sarah Brown, Greg Smith, John Kitime, Victor J. Lyamuya, Lauren J. Sanders, Iman Kagumba, Sane Shija, APC Architects, Muda Africa, Emmanuel Basonde & Peaceland, Ajabu Ajabu, Mihayo Kallaye, Tofa Jaxx, Sabi John Kitaule, Baraka Leo, Erick Adams, Femi Johnson, Naima Hassan, Rachel Kessi, Remi Busch, Marcela Okeke, Studio mn&a, Devin Martin 

Ala Praxis (NG) (f. 2024) is a research-driven art collective committed to addressing urgent environmental and human challenges through pioneering experiments at the intersection of art, science, technology, and society. As an interdisciplinary group, we draw on the diverse expertise of anthropologists, architects, animators, design and visual artists, curators, writers, worldbuilders, sound artists, and experimental thinkers. Together, we investigate, ideate, and create imaginative responses to the pressing societal issues of our time, particularly those linked to the environment and cultural preservation. 

Sand mining is an urgent, devastating act of environmental sabotage that is devastating rivers and other ecosystems across the global South. Driven by the ravenous demands for the raw material with which our ever-expanding built fabric—cities, roads, infrastructure—is constructed, insufficient attention is paid to this persistent challenge, threatening the stability of entire ecosystems and the livelihoods they support.

Engaging people on this important topic is not easy. After all, sand or soil seems like a finite resource to the average eye. It's everywhere. If only we were that easy. Enter Ala Praxis with their project Sands Of Time, in which they demonstrate a sharp understanding of the urgency of this topic.

A mixed-media installation consisting of multiple elements, including VR, various videos and audio, a prayer room, and an interactive giant sundial, Ala Praxis weaves a time travel tale. Still, it ultimately brings the viewer down to earth—witnessing the devastating effects of this ruinous activity from the perspective of a time traveler who has stepped back in time from x years in the future to understand how sand mining activities devastated the earth, leading to catastrophe. Ala Praxis proves that speculative fiction can be a powerful tool for helping us anticipate what might come and connecting the present to a yet-to-be-written future, stirring us away from taking paths that might imperil not only ourselves but the planet.