Reimagining Colonial History in the Built Environment
Date : 3 April 2025
Time : 10:15am-5:15pm
Where : Third Floor, The Africa Centre, London
The last decade has seen a rise in initiatives designed to problematise colonial history not just in the museum, but beyond it in the built environment. Cities, neighbourhoods, and even individual streets have become a popular template for the closer examination of empire’s legacies and overcoming imperial amnesia. They have also become sites for experimentation with post-colonial futures, largely by members of the creative industries. Writers, artists, architects, urban planners, digital engineers, and many others are challenging the way we conceive of place after empire and our relationship to it.
The purpose of this one-day workshop is to bring together projects seeking to challenge the heritage of empire in the built environment. It will consist of a series of panels in which speakers share and reflect upon initiatives already in action, and we will devote time throughout the workshop for participants to think collectively. We hope that the event will ultimately help to inspire and put new ideas into practice.
—————————————————————————————————-
Programme
Reimagining Colonial History in the Built Environment
10:30- 11:00 Welcome
11-12:30 PANEL 1: Citywide Projects
– Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City (Anna Yeboah)
– Exhibiting decolonial city history – unknown sources and contested objects (Fabian Fechner and Barbara Schneider)
– London Afropolitan (Matthew Barac and Harriet McKay)
12:30-1:30 lunch
1:30-3:30 PANEL 2: Worldmaking in Practice
– Reclaiming Colonial Architecture (Tania Sengupta and Stuart King)
– Artist in residence: Percy Nii Nortey Art as an Intervention for Colonial Emancipation: Reclaiming Histories, Identity, and Public Spaces
– Artist in residence: Theresa Weber
3:30-4:00 coffee
4:00-5:00 PANEL 4: Re-visualising the City
– Film screening of Who We Were; Who We Became and presentation by Danae Wellington and Darshan Gajjar (10 min film screening, 20 min presentation)
5:00-5:15 Concluding thoughts
Note, lunch will be provided for all speakers and audience members on the day