Hors Pistes, an international collaborative residency program, initiates creative encounters, enabling young designers to discover foreign traditional techniques, and artisans to diversify the field of application of their know-how. The exhibition at Wanted Design Brooklyn – marking the initiative’s US premiere – will showcase a selection of objects, images, and publications from the two previous Hors Pistes workshops held in Burkina Faso – Ouagadougou in 2013 and Banfora in 2014.
About Hors Pistes
During one-month residencies, craftsmen and designers share their knowledge and their culture, in order to develop a project together. They experiment in the workshops and get inspired from the identity of the territory. By breaking their working habits and by collaborating off the beaten track, craftsmen and designers renew their creation processes and carry out a project with a multicultural identity.

Romain Diroux (designer) &
Alphonse Ouedraogo (bronze caster), workshop Ouagadougou 2013. Photo credits: ©Fabrice Schneider / Hors Pistes 2013
Each residency program takes place on a territory chosen for its crafts and identity. Hors Pistes selects six different artisans for the excellence of their techniques, their ability to share knowledge, creativity, and curiosity. Six designers are then selected thanks to an international open call. The candidates are selected for the singularity of their design approach, their human values, and interest in crafts. Participating in the residencies encourages the transmission of skills but also questions the heritage and future of traditional techniques. Additionally, an editorial team documents each residency program with a publication.
We are thrilled to present Hors Pistes in collaboration with the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York and the French Embassy in the United States via its Oui Design program. In their respective multifaceted programs, Oui Design and Hors Pistes share a common goal: to promote and initiate creative collaborations through which passionate designers, artisans, curators, and thinkers can exchange. They also both promote multicultural projects by organizing international and multidisciplinary encounters.
With its top-notch schools and reputed design prizes, Switzerland has a very dynamic design scene, and has been a fertile ground for creative work since the origins of Hors Pistes. By allowing its talented young designers to participate in the Hors Pistes residency program, Switzerland has expanded its excellence “off the beaten track“ while Hors Pistes has benefited from the country’s internationally renowned design.
About Wanted Design
With its marquee events during NYCxDESIGN in May, WantedDesign is a platform dedicated to promoting design and fostering the international creative community at large throughout the year. Founded in New York City in 2011 by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, WantedDesign has established itself as a constant and staunch supporter of U.S. and international design via events, conversations, and partners and its yearly programming aims to nurture New York City’s design dialogue. For more info and event listings, visit the Wanted Design Website.
WantedDesign Brooklyn opening hours:
Wednesday May 17 to Tuesday May 23 from 11am to 6pm.
The Opening Celebration will be on Tuesday May 16, it is an invitation-only event.
Register here to attend WantedDesign Brooklyn, May 17-23
at Industry City, 274 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Subway access: D, N, R (36th St. Station)
Shuttle service available on May 20 and May 21, from 11am to 6pm from WantedDesign Manhattan to WantedDesign Brooklyn
The work of the following designers and craftsmen will be on display:
Argentique – by Valentine Dubois & Emanuel Ilboudo and his workshop / Ouagadougou 2013
Belelebeleba – by Laurence Stoffel* & Tessemé Soma / Banfora 2014
Brassée – by Akama & Annie Sibert / Banfora 2014
Les Coiffeuses – by Akama, Beatrice Durandard* & Fatima / Banfora 2014
Couteaux de lune – by Akama & Lola Mercier / Banfora 2014
Hors Série – by Emanuel Ilboudo and his workshop & Studio Monsieur / Ouagadougou 2013
Légendes Urbaines – by Dimitri Bähler*, Ilboudo Ablacé, Antoinette Boukougou, Alphonse Ouedraogo, Emanuel Ilboudo and his workshop, Evelyne Ouedraogo and her team / Ouagadougou 2013
Sinsi – by Sita Koné, Lola Mercier, Massara Ouattara & Mariam Sontié / Banfora 2014
Tables – by Micael Filipe*, Zélé Ouattara, Fanitta Sontié, & Natogoma Traoré / Banfora 2014
Toiture – by Christophe Machet* & Maurice Nagalo / Ouagadougou 2013
Weke – by Evelyne Ouedraogo & Sarah Viguer / Ouagadougou 2013
Zaworé – by Alphonse Ouedraogo & Studio Monsieur / Ouagadougou 2013
Livre Hors Pistes 2013 – by Karim Bassedoga*, Raphaël Faure* and Fabrice Schneider* / Ouagadougou 2013
Adventice (Studio based in CH) – hors série – by Florine Bonaventure* and Jennifer Niederhauser Schlup* / Banfora 2014
*Alumni of ECAL
Save the Date: Thursday May 18, 5:00 – 6:15 PM
Swiss touch presents:
Craftsmen & designers, story of encounters
A conversation about global sustainable design exchanges between craftsmen and cutting-edge designers.
A conversation with Dimitri Bähler, Swiss designer and participant in the Hors Pistes residency in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Amandine David, Co-founder of Hors Pistes, an international residency program promoting collaboration between designers and artisans; Andrea Lipps, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Nicolas Randin, Former Head of Swiss Cooperation Office in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, currently Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations.
Swiss Touch is an initiative of the Swiss Government in the US to gather experts and opinion leaders around the table in an effort to facilitate local dialogue around pressing global challenges. Skillfully pairing high-quality Swiss craftsmanship with breakthrough technology, Swiss Touch is a platform for all to engage in forward-looking conversations to generate new ideas.
Image on top: ZAWORÉ – ALPHONSE OUEDRAOGO & STUDIO MONSIEUR, OUAGADOUGOU 2013. PHOTO: ©ÉMILE BARRET / HORS PISTES