Creating With Community: Imagining Collaborative, Justice-Oriented Spaces

Kellyn Nettles
Exhibition and Experience Design

About this Item

Title
Creating With Community: Imagining Collaborative, Justice-Oriented Spaces
Contributor Names
Nettles, Kellyn (Author)
Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Exhibition and Experience Design (Degree granting institution)
Cowan, Brenda (Thesis advisor)
Washington, Michele Y. (Thesis advisor)
Lyons, Christina (Thesis advisor)
Date
2024
Degree Information
M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2024
Department: Exhibition and Experience Design
Advisors: Brenda Cowan; Michele Y. Washington; Christina Lyons
Committee member: Brooke Carlson
Abstract
This paper explores some of the necessary parameters, including concepts, physical structures, and strategy, for exhibition designers to consider as part of the co-creation process in local communities, with the goal of sustaining movements for broader social change. I will detail my research on the topic, and propose a solution on behalf of clients that operate on a grassroots level. Key principles of this research were outlined by members of Àrokò Cooperative, a design organization formed in 2020 that is dedicated to cultivating a future of Black Liberation, care, and well-being for Earth and all of her inhabitants. The Àrokò Cooperative Design to Divest manifesto states:
Interweaving the collective imagination of all beings, we are able to imagine new worlds that were previously beyond the grasp of our individual consciousness. We never design alone; we co-create across generations and understand the interconnected nature of our decisions through time and experiences.
Through research and applied design practice, I will explain how the principles of co-design and co-collaboration can be utilized in the exhibition design field to increase community engagement and education with important issues, thus creating change to the lived experiences of Black communities experiencing the impacts of repeated systemic failure under capitalist infrastructure. The proposed solution is an exhibition and design incubator based around a mikiri, a precolonial Igbo meeting for women to exercise their power. I will include formal documentation on the design plans and background on the concept.
Subject
Design
African diaspora
Museum studies
Keyword
Co-creation
Grassroots organizations
Black studies
Liberation
Social justice
Physical structures
Rights
In Copyright
The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
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Identifier
FIT Repository ID: etd_001007
URN/ISBN: 9798302851819
Related Materials
Also available from ProQuest
Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 86-07.
Type
Text
Thesis
Language
English
Publisher
Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,

Citation

Nettles, K. (2024). Creating With Community: Imagining Collaborative, Justice-Oriented Spaces [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/599942
Nettles, Kellyn. Creating With Community: Imagining Collaborative, Justice-Oriented Spaces. 2024. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/599942
Nettles, Kellyn. "Creating With Community: Imagining Collaborative, Justice-Oriented Spaces." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2024. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/599942