The world of regions

The workshop under the auspices of HfG Offenbach University of Art and Design was conducted by Senior Lecturer Muthoni Kimani from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology at the invitation of the Dean Prof. Klaus Hesse. The topic was “The world of regions” exploring how symbols come to acquire meaning in the social setting, following a seminar presented at the Visual Communication department with attendance from the theory and history professors and students, on the 12th June, entitled “Culture and semiotics”.  

The workshop began with a lecture on the semantics of symbols, followed by subsequent lectures on semiotics, sign systems and meaning making in different cultural settings. The task for the students was to identify symbols presented to them, with particular meanings from their own cultural backgrounds, and to embody these through a symbolic code. The symbolic code was supposed to link the symbol to the cultural space from which it derived its meaning.