2023
Welcome to : The Afrofuture
How Can Afrofuturism Encourage Young People in London to Imagine a More Empowering Future?
This project explores how Afrofuturism can inspire and empower young people in London to imagine a more hopeful future, particularly in the face of climate change and rising eco-anxiety. The project culminated in the conceptualisation of an interactive exhibition titled "Welcome to: The Afrofuture", which invites participants to reimagine London's urban spaces through an Afrofuturistic lens. By integrating indigenous perspectives, emerging technologies, and creative speculation, the exhibition offers a transformative experience aimed at encouraging young people to envision and shape a future that is both inclusive and sustainable.
Background
The research is grounded in the intersection of Afrofuturism, design anthropology, and speculative design as tools for addressing contemporary social issues such as climate change and eco-anxiety. The literature highlighted the growing concern among young people about environmental degradation, with many experiencing heightened levels of eco-anxiety. Afrofuturism, an aesthetic and epistemological movement that integrates African and Indigenous knowledge systems with technology and science, emerged as a powerful framework for imagining sustainable futures. Additionally, the literature emphasized the importance of participatory design and human-centred design in engaging marginalized communities, making them active agents in the creation of solutions to urban and environmental challenges.
Quantitative Methods
The project employed descriptive statistics as quantitative methods to analyze attitudes toward climate change, particularly focusing on the levels of concern and eco-anxiety among young people in London. Data was sourced from the Office of National Statistics, surveying over 3,990 participants aged 16-24 and older, across factors such as age, gender, and region. Participants were asked about their worry regarding the environment on a five-point scale, providing insights into the correlation between age and climate anxiety. The statistical analysis revealed that young people tend to experience higher levels of anxiety about climate change, with Londoners exhibiting more intense concern compared to the national average. This data served as a foundation for understanding the emotional and psychological state of young people, which the project aimed to address through participatory Afrofuturistic design
Qualitative Methods
The project utilized qualitative methods primarily through Design Thinking and participatory design to deeply understand the perspectives and needs of young people in London. The research began with the empathize stage, where user research was conducted using focus groups and interviews to gather insights into young people's attitudes toward climate change and their familiarity with Afrofuturism. Human-Centred Design (HCD) principles were applied, ensuring that the design process was tailored to the target audience's needs and preferences.
Participatory elements, such as focus groups, were crucial for co-creating solutions, with participants providing feedback through dot voting and interactive sessions to shape the exhibition concept. The iterative design process allowed for constant refinement based on user input, ensuring that the exhibition remained engaging and resonant with the target audience
Design Thinking
The exhibition design process followed a structured Design Thinking approach, beginning with gathering user insights through focus groups and interviews to understand how young people engage with Afrofuturism and their concerns about climate change. These insights shaped the define stage, where the core problem was refined to ensure the exhibition would resonate with the target audience. In the ideation phase, various speculative design concepts were explored, and participants were invited to contribute through interactive workshops and dot voting to guide the direction of the exhibition. This feedback informed the prototyping stage, where design elements were sketched, and user journeys were mapped.
The final exhibition, "Welcome to: The Afrofuture," was conceptualized as an immersive, interactive tube station, guiding participants through a reimagined history and future, integrating sensory elements and data displays to engage users in imagining an Afrofuturistic London.
Exhibition
The exhibition was designed as an immersive, interactive experience set in a reimagined tube station. The concept drew on Afrofuturistic themes, blending speculative design, Indigenous knowledge, and emerging technology to create a journey through past, present, and future combining it with a cornerstone of London, the tube.
The exhibition was divided into distinct platforms and train carriages, each representing different time periods and concepts, starting from Pangea Platform—symbolising the ancient, unified supercontinent—and moving through key moments in African history, including the impacts of slavery, colonization, independence, and reclamation.
Visitors would first explore the "Ugunduzi Express" (Swahili for discovery), a train carriage featuring films, art, music, and interactive data displays that highlighted the evolution of African culture and Afrofuturism.
The journey continues with Present Platform, showcasing iconic Afrofuturistic figures like jazz musician Sun Ra, and interactive elements where visitors could visualize data and engage with real-world environmental concerns.
The final part, Potential Platform, invited participants to speculate on the future, contributing to a collective vision of an Afrofuturistic London through interactive games and collaborative design tools. The entire exhibition was designed to be sensory-rich and participatory, allowing young people to envision their own empowering futures through the lens of Afrofuturism
Podcast
The "Kultural Kollections" podcast serves as an educational tool to explain Afrofuturism and its role in empowering young people. It breaks down the concept by combining African and Indigenous perspectives with technology to address contemporary challenges like climate change.
The podcast introduces the concept of Afrofuturim to the listeners, walking through popular Afrofuturism pioneers and concepts. It then takes listeners through the project, it’s grounding in data from the ONS and then through a Design Thinking process, from research on urban anthropology and focus group insights to the development of an interactive exhibition. By discussing the ideation, prototyping, and final outcomes, the podcast educates the audience on how Afrofuturism can inspire change while also inviting them to engage with the project and its goals.
You can listen to the podcast here