Makers Market in Dakar: Ge'eza's Regular Format

The makers market is one of Ge'eza's regular formats, in Point E: days when the villa turns into a market and a shared table, for a few hours at a time. Local makers and diaspora brands set up stalls in the gallery and the garden while the restaurant keeps running as usual. No future date is announced in this article; the events page and the house's monthly newsletter remain the places to check for when the format next comes around.

A simple idea: the villa becomes a market

The makers market rests on a simple premise: for one day, the villa that usually hosts a restaurant and a gallery turns into a place to buy and meet the people behind what is on sale. Visitors move between stalls, stop for a coffee or a meal, then leave with something chosen directly from the person who made it. The format closes the gap between discovery and purchase. You are not ordering from a catalogue, you are talking to the maker.

Local makers alongside diaspora brands

Every edition of the market mixes makers based in Dakar with brands carried by members of the diaspora, whether passing through or settled elsewhere. That mix gives each market a different flavour, depending on who sets up a stall that day. For visitors, the draw is finding, in one place, pieces that do not always turn up in the city's usual shops.

Dia Nifanena, a sense of what an edition can look like

"Dia Nifanena," on Sunday 7 June 2026, showed a fuller version of the format: a market of Malagasy brands and local makers, set up alongside coffee painting workshops and a live music stage. Admission was 2,000 F for adults and 1,000 F for children. It remains the clearest example of what a makers market can look like, without saying anything about what a future edition will include.

Markets paired with other house events

The makers market does not always stand alone. It has also accompanied other past events at the house, such as a small craft market held alongside an exhibition devoted to Cape Verde, or a small market of makers paired with a music brunch built around Sudan. In those formats, the market becomes an addition to an exhibition or a musical highlight rather than a stand-alone date. The house has also hosted other recent events, such as Live Mbongui, a sign of how often these moments happen even without a fixed schedule.

Why no date is given here

Makers markets do not follow a fixed day of the month. They tend to accompany an exhibition, a brunch or another occasion at the house, so how often they happen varies accordingly. That is why this article names no date: the events page and the site's calendar are the up-to-date sources for confirmed dates, with a subscribable calendar and a file you can add to your own. The house's monthly newsletter, one email a month, also tells subscribers as soon as a date is set.

Buying between two markets

There is no need to wait for the next market to come away with a handmade piece. Ge'eza's concept store carries craft, design, fine grocery and art editions year round, during the restaurant's opening hours. A piece spotted at a past market, or a gift idea between editions, can usually be found on the spot, or set aside by the team on WhatsApp.

Showing your work at a future market

A maker who wants to take part in a future edition can write directly to the team, on WhatsApp at +221 78 660 07 07 or at geezacultures@gmail.com, with a brief introduction to their work. No date is fixed for a next edition, but every enquiry received helps shape the next one, whether it is tied to an exhibition or runs on its own.

What stays with you from a makers market

A makers market at Ge'eza asks little of visitors: you arrive, you wander, you stop where something catches your eye, you leave with a specific object and you know who made it. It mirrors, in craft, the certificate of authenticity the gallery hands over with every artwork sold: a direct link between the object and the person behind it.

Staying informed

The simplest way not to miss a future makers market is to subscribe to the house's monthly newsletter and check the events page regularly, where confirmed dates are announced with full details. Between editions, the concept store and the gallery stay open during the restaurant's usual hours, Tuesday to Sunday.