The Jenniez School of African Interior Design (JSAID) hosted the Blueprint Conference from October 25-26th in Accra, Ghana seeking to unite interior design professionals and enthusiasts around riveting panels, workshops and discussions on the role of design in the built environment. The Blueprint Conference is hosted by JSAID, an accredited interior decoration vocational school based in Lagos, Nigeria.
The maiden edition of the Blueprint Conference was held in Lagos, Nigeria on the 10th of November 2018 at Radisson Blu Ikeja, under the theme the Business of Interior Design. JSAID launched a widely successful event, leveraging the knowledge of renowned design professionals and business experts who came together from all over the world including the United States to empower interior designers, skilled workers, architects, artisans, tradesmen, manufacturers, and other small to medium sized enterprises working in the design industry, with practical tools, guidance and motivation on how to take their business to the next level. It was sponsored by Dulux Paint, Essential Interiors Magazine, President Paint, Andrezini Projects to name a few.
Hence, the Blueprint Conference Accra will be held on Friday on the 25th of October 2019 as a day-long seminar with masterclasses from top architects and interior designers from Nigeria and Ghana in collaboration with members of the Interior Designers and Decorators of Ghana Association (IDDG). On Saturday, October 26th will feature a program of immersive excursions to explore Accra’s interior design identity such as a half day tour of historical buildings and visits to local home decor retailers, ceramicists and textile designer studios.
African resilience speaks to the concept of enduring through time. This is exactly the appeal of the study of buildings, and their ability to leave a legacy throughout the ages. Architecture and interior design are credible yet subtle ambassadors of culture and history. Ghana’s shores are testaments to the slave trade, dotted with over a dozen slave forts. Historic areas like Jamestown and Osu reflect colonial homes from the country’s years under British rule. Yet the urban skyline is modern, showing the evolution of Ghana’s design ethos and spirit while continuing to reflect homegrown design principles and concepts. This is demonstrated for example in the Ashanti stool reincarnation that is the Jubilee House.
In celebration of the Year of the Return, the Blueprint Conference Accra will be themed “Celebrating Ghanaian Heritage through Design” and will feature speakers that will hone in on the intersection between interior architecture, cultural inspiration and modernism. It will also attract participation from the diaspora and neighbouring ECOWAS countries both as speakers and delegates and reflect on Ghana’s specific and unique contribution to global design practices.
Specifically, the Blueprint Conference is targeting: