The Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, filmmaker and activist Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 4 February 1959) has been named as the eighth writer to contribute to the Future Library. Dangarembga will hand over her manuscript at the annual ceremony in the depths of the Nordmarka forest, in Spring 2022. The work will be stored in a special designed room at the new public library Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo, until its release in the year 2114.
I share with many other dwellers of our beautiful planet a deep sense of concern for our home’s well-being. The Future Library project perfectly expresses my yearning for a human culture that centers the earth’s sustainability. Communicating through the project with those who will be present in a hundred years time is thrilling and a privilege
Tsitsi Dangarembga
Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 4 February 1959) is an award-winning novelist, playwright, filmmaker and activist. Dangarembga was born in Mutoko, Zimbabwe. Her first novel NERVOUS CONDITIONS (1988) was hailed by Doris Lessing as one of the most important novels of the twentieth century and was included in the BBC’s 2018 list of the 100 books that shaped the world. THE BOOK OF NOT (2006) and THIS MOURNABLE BODY (2018), long-listed for the Booker Prize 2020, complete the Tambudzai Trilogy.
Dangarembga founded the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) in 2009, and its publishing division in 2014. She is writing SAI-SAI AND THE GREAT ANCESTOR OF FIRE, a dystopic speculative young adult fiction. Her plays were performed at the University of Zimbabwe. Her short musical KARE KARE ZVAKO, (MOTHER’S DAY, 2005) was screened at Sundance.
She runs capacity building programs for African women filmmakers, in addition to fundraising for her productions. Her films and prose have received international recognition. Her awards include the 2021 PEN Award for Freedom of Expression, the 2021 PEN Pinter prize and the 2021Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s words have shaped the world. Praised for her ability to capture and communicate vital truths, the Zimbabwean novelist is admired worldwide as a voice of hope. She examines oppression, discrimination, and systemic racism, through writing that is brave and unforgettable
The Future Library Trust
The Future Library is a public artwork conceived by Scottish artist Katie Paterson that unfolds over 100 years in the city of Oslo, Norway. The first contributor to the library was Canadian author Margaret Atwood (2014) followed by British novelist David Mitchell (2015); Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist Sjón (2016); Turkish author and political commentator, Elif Shafak (2017); South Korean novelist Han Kang (2018), Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård (2019) and in 2020, Vietnamese American writer and poet, Ocean Vuong.
One thousand trees have been planted in Nordmarka, a forest just outside Oslo, which will supply paper for a special anthology of books to be printed in 100 years’ time. Between now and then, one writer every year will contribute a text, with the writings held in trust, unpublished, until 2114.
All 100 manuscripts will be held in a specially designed room in the Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo. No adult living today will ever know what is inside the boxes, other than that they are texts of some kind that will withstand the ravages of time.
Hailed by many as a ‘library of the future’, the Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo’s new main library, opened its doors to the public in 2020. While seeking to be Norway’s most important arena for literature, the library also looks to become a centre of knowledge for the capital’s citizens as well as a host of cultural experiences that are accessible to everyone. Deichman Bjørvika library was named the 2021 public library of the year by the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations).
This award is the ultimate proof that the city of Oslo has given its citizens a world-class main library. Deichman Bjørvika is the crowning achievement of a comprehensive and sustained effort to develop Oslo’s libraries
Knut Skansen, library director at Deichman Bjørvika
Conceived by Katie Paterson, Future Library is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling, and managed by the Future Library Trust. The room in the Deichman Bjørvika is designed by the artist and architects Atelier Oslo and Lund Hagem. The project is supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban Environment.
