What are the guiding principles of A.K.A.N.I?
In having seen and lived through the problem, I wanted to identify ways to approach each aspect of decolonising design; Both in my personal identification with my practice as a designer and in the change I want my project to create.
I came to understand that decolonising design requires a multifaceted approach:
internal work, reassessment of how knowledge is gained and shared, and a deeper respect for the materials we create with.
From this, three pillars emerged, heavily influenced by Black feminist traditions, and Yoruba and Adinkra symbolism, where form carries philosophy and meaning is layered rather than fixed:
✷ Reflection
⧗ Knowledge
⬬ Materiality
Together, they form a foundation for a holistic practice, resisting colonial fragmentation, creating a clear navigator for my project and enquiry.
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#decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #Architecture #blackfeminism @challenge_and_change1
What are the theoretical foundations of A.K.A.N.I?
I wrote my dissertation during my third year of BA Architecture where I was seeking to explore my understanding of architecture’s colonial frameworks and how deeply rooted this issue is, beyond just brick and mortar, the issues reside within the internal architecture of our minds, a question of ontology.
Audre Lorde’s words were a focal point to navigate my approach in deconstructing architecture through the lens of the oppressed.
Lorde’s work alongside the voices of incredible thinkers including; Frank B. Wilderson III, Saidiyah Hartman, Mabel O. Wilson, Toni Morrison, bell hooks, James Baldwin, truly helped to shape my research into the complexity of this problem, and showed me that what I was feeling was valid.
If you’d like an in depth read of my work, follow the website link in bio and go to the library.
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#Architecture #decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #mastershouse #audrelorde
What is A.K.A.N.I?
A.K.A.N.I
(Ancestral Knowledge + Arts Narratives Integration)
is a decolonial design project, born from my experiences as a Black woman studying architecture and passion for representation in the design world.
It is a method, but also a research project, an archive, and an ongoing inquiry.
A way of exploring design that begins with care, reflection, and connection.
A space for unlearning, remembering, and making differently.
This work sits at the intersection of architecture, ancestral knowledge, material culture, and lived experience.
Through this project I am examining how colonial epistemologies continue to structure design education and subsequently developing theoretically grounded resources to support pedagogical transformation.
In the next few posts, the theoretical foundations that shaped this project and the question that sparked it all will be shared and discussed.
Stay tuned!
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Tickets sold out within 24 hours!
Super excited to be joined by @fredarchives on the 5th June to host a workshop where we will explore the meaning of ‘home’ through our hands and the medium of clay🧡
Thank you to @ikokobrixton for providing the space! Stay tuned for our future workshops planned!
For the third workshop in our residency series at @anomalous_space join us and @tirzni of @akani_toolkit on the 18th of May - in building our own world in opposition to the western world’s paradigm built for us.
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Together we will imagine what we’d like to see more of in the future of our communities- this could be spaces of gathering, nature, care, and what they represent- to build a collective mural, our shared world through collaborative drawing and building a collective piece together. 🫶🏽
Hot drinks provided throughout, this workshop will be a safe and intimate atmosphere to collaborate, cultivate interesting conversation and truly come together, in a time where we can all feel so apart.🫀
We can’t wait to welcome you there.
Ticket link in bio for your free spot!!
Three voices, one truth: the earth isn’t dead matter to manipulate, it’s living kin to honour.
When we remember this, building from the earth becomes about reciprocity not extraction, accountability instead of waste.
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Read more via the link in bio!
#decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #Architecture #blackfeminism #blacktheory @challenge_and_change1
Declaration is not performance.
It is responsibility.
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Read more via the link in bio!
#decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #Architecture #blackfeminism #blacktheory
Using theory as the seed of this work.
Everything else grows from there.
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Read more via the link in bio!
#decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #Architecture #blackfeminism #blacktheory
Wanted to share a think piece on the form of refusal this work is engaging with.
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More writings will be shared soon, stay tuned.
#decolonisingdesign #decolonisation #Architecture #blackfeminism
“This ecosystem must remain as it is, it must be sustained because in its survival, depends our own.” A separation between humans and the environment is formed when we see ourselves as superior to it, rather than accepting the reality of our symbiotic relationship. Embodied materiality calls for a reconciliation between us and the natural world.
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Source: Wangarī Maathai, Greenpeace Africa
#decolonisation #wangarimaathai #environment #nature #akanitoolkit
