Posted in
Life & Culture, Efie Gallery
How to make a cross-cultural listening room
Text Dazed MENA
Located at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, Efie Gallery is a contemporary art space that champions artists of African origin from across the continent and diaspora. Celebrating the intersection of art and music, it hosts exhibitions, residencies, and cross-cultural collaborations alongside a space by the name of The Rekord Gallery. Founded in 2022, this Hi-Fi listening room exhibits the gallery’s permanent collection of originally pressed rare and important vinyl/shellac records from around the world, dating from the 1940s to the present day. These discs, says Efie Gallery, are one of its richest art forms, encompassing the artistry of the cover, the historical specificity of the liner notes, and the music itself.
1. Have Hi-Fi speakers with 360 audio.
The Rekord Gallery has five speakers in total:
3 x JBL 4349 12″ (300mm), 2-WAY Studio Monitor Speaker
2 x JBL 4312XP Studio Monitor Speaker
2. Archive originally pressed vinyl of all sizes, ages, and nationalities.
Our collection spans from the 1940s to today and tomorrow. In view:
1. A collection of Highlife records, dated between 1950 and 1960 (West Africa)
2. Abdou El Omari, Nuits D’Été: Fatine/Layali Saif, 1976 (Morocco)
3. Berlioz, Le Carnaval Romain/La Damnation de Faust, 1955 (UK)
4. Warda, Khaleek Hena El Wadaa Live, 1973 (Egypt)
5. Fela Kuti, Original Sufferhead, 1981 (Nigeria)
3. Create a cassette tape listening station.
These cassettes were all acquired from Riyadh, Sharjah, and Dubai.
5. Add board games from around the world.
Seen here is Oware, an abstract strategy game among the mancala (pit and pebble) family of board games played worldwide with slight variations between layouts. Although uncertain, its widely believed to be of Ashanti origin (Ghana).
6. Add a café, too.
Pictured here is Hot Kasha, a hibiscus tea set served with cloves, cinnamon, and star anise. This is The Rekord Gallery’s bestseller (it’s not the best seller, but we want it to be).
7. Disregard all previous steps and do as you wish.