Introduction
Thiès Region holds the Petite Côte beach strip, along with a tapestry workshop whose work has hung in museums worldwide and a mangrove lagoon reserve tucked between the resort towns.
Overview
Thiès city, an hour inland from Dakar and historically a railway junction on the line to Mali, is home to the Manufacture Sénégalaise des Arts Décoratifs — a state tapestry workshop founded in 1966 that trains weavers to translate paintings by Senegalese artists into large-scale wool tapestries, entirely by hand on traditional looms. The workshop's tapestries have been exhibited in museums and galleries on several continents, and visitors can watch weavers at work on pieces that can take months to complete. On the coast, between the resort towns of Saly and Mbour, La Somone Nature Reserve protects a mangrove-lined lagoon where the Somone river meets the Atlantic — a quieter counterpart to the charter-beach strip around it, reached by pirogue for birdwatching among pelicans, herons and kingfishers.
Discover Thiès Region
The Manufacture Sénégalaise des Arts Décoratifs was established in 1966 as part of Senegal's post-independence push, under first president Léopold Sédar Senghor, to build cultural institutions capable of representing the young country's own artistic identity — the workshop's specific method, translating paintings by contemporary Senegalese artists into wool tapestries woven entirely by hand, grew directly out of that mandate to produce something recognisably Senegalese rather than importing a European craft tradition wholesale. A single large tapestry can take a small team of weavers several months to complete, working from a full-size painted cartoon, and the finished pieces have since been exhibited in museums and galleries across Europe, North America and Africa. Visitors can walk through the workshop floor and watch weavers at work on pieces in progress, and a small gallery displays completed tapestries for sale.
Ways to Experience This Destination
A state tapestry workshop translating Senegalese paintings into hand-woven wool works exhibited worldwide.
A mangrove lagoon between Saly and Mbour, explored by pirogue for pelicans, herons and kingfishers.
Frequently asked questions
This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.