PIVOT 2021 Conference proceedings
In July 2021, I had the opportunity to participate in the PIVOT 2021 Conference: Dismantling Reassembling, organised by the Design Research Society and OCAD University in Canada.
My participation was titled: Staying Diasporic: Centering migrant and diasporic ways of being in Design, and it was presented in the Panel Identities and Conversations.
Recently, the Conference Proceedings were published and you can now access the whole amazing presentations of this Conference, that had guests like Arturo Escobar and Bayo Akomolafe. Together, we all contributed perspectives to decolonise design work and academia in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Welcome to visit the proceedings!
Abstract:
Migration and diaspora are phenomenons that are continuously shaping the world, and that are caused and informed by colonial structures. The communities in diaspora are held together by particular ways of imagining and relating with the homeland, the host culture, and themselves, touching back into the local. In the experience of migrating and becoming part of a diaspora, our identities shift, as we enter a state of tension between total assimilation and resistance, questioning our national hegemonic values and ways of being. As a designer with migrated roots, I would like to share some experiences and thoughts about working in codesign processes with migrant communities: How do we matter our worlds from a diasporic situatedness, and what does this mean in terms of encouraging decolonial processes in design? What is the impact of digital tools and virtual settings? Which strategies might help us challenging our assumptions as designers? Ultimately, I want to continue conversations about the role of design into materialising dissent and contestation towards the hegemonic systems, centering migrant and diasporic ways of being. How can these reflections inspire us for future practices in design?
migration and diaspora; decolonial design; social design; codesign
