It’s been a while! Here are the things we’ve been up to lately, both within and outside the platform:
- Besides the new layout (designed and implemented by Matt Kiem using Fonts by Womxn), we have also outlined a call for contributions and actions; this is a reminder that our platform is open for anyone currently challenging hegemonic perspectives within and around design.
- In March 2018, Danah, Ece, Luiza and Pedro took part on behalf of DD at the Beyond Change: Questioning the role of design in times of global transformations conference in Basel, Switzerland. Co-curating a parallel programme within the conference in collaboration with Nina Paim, Depatriarchise Design, and Precarity Pilot (feat. Francisco Laranjo from Modes of Criticism), we held conversation sessions, roundtables and workshops that directly challenged the regular conference programme. We have also curated a pocket library with our own suggestions and recommendations for readings and interventions on decolonising design. The full list of books is available here.
- We have also published two new pieces at the platform: The first one, written by Matt Kiem, addresses the politics of organisation and unionising in the context of design and technology in Australia. The second, written by Ahmed Ansari for the Beyond Change conference programme, presents two distinct yet overlapping propositions for decolonising design.
- We have contributed a chapter for the book “Extra-curricular”, edited by Jacob Lindgren and released by Onomatopee. Our text, titled “Decolonising Design Education: Ontologies, Strategies, Urgencies” sits alongside other critical pieces by comrades and allies. The full text will be available soon at the platform.
- We have also curated and edited a special issue of the Design & Culture Journal on Decolonising Design, featuring contributions by Dimeji Onafuwa, Nadine Botha, Uzma Rizvi, Ali Musleh, Uncle Charles Moran + Uncle Greg Harrington + Norm Sheehan, and a roundtable with the eight of us. The editor’s introduction as well as the roundtable are available for reading/download; the other contributions will follow soon.
We are still working on making all of our written contributions widely available and outside paywalls. Stay tuned both here and in our Twitter account for updates on that.