About
We are a creative studio & design lab unleashing Black imagination to shape the future. We boost invention and innovation, realign action logic, and experiment with new forms of culture and civil society to create atmospheres of change. We create original multi-platform story worlds, experiences and ephemera, and engage Black people in imagination workshops and hackathons.
Work
Our work boosts invention and imagination, realigns action logic and experiments with new forms of culture and civil society to create atmospheres of change.
OUR MISSION
Everyday we wake up buzzing with the mission to create afro-speculative content and experiences that invite Black people to imagine new realities. We create multi-platform story worlds, ephemera, and experiences rooted in a vision of Black utopias.
OUR VISION
We envision a global archipelago of interconnected Black utopias, a network of maroon societies dreamed and constructed by Black folks, sovereign liberated zones, practicing Afro-indigenous ways of being, resting, thriving, living joyful, expansive and interdependent lives free from the systems that have harmed us for centuries.
OUR WORK
In our creative studio we create multi-platform story worlds, ephemera, art, and experiences that invite Black folks to immerse themselves in alternative realities based on Black Utopias. In our design lab we work with Black-led collectives, organizations, neighborhoods, communities, cities and governments to collectively imagine and design their futures as Black utopias and liberated zones.
OUR DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Decluttering – We believe that we are at our most creative when there is spaciousness and we are able to have clear vision for what we want to accomplish. This involves clearing our minds as well as our physical surroundings.
Narrative and Aesthetics – We believe that any successful design must include both content and form, i.e. story and aesthetics. We use narrative to both understand what the problem or issue is that we want to address as well as to convey our solution in powerful, accessible ways. We use aesthetics to embody our narrative, ensuring that the ideas, products, and experiences we create are visually appealing and make social change attractive and desirable.
Black Renaissance – Creating a Culture of Black Liberation – Our design purpose is inextricably linked to the birth of a culture of black liberation. We explore and integrate cultural experiences and expressions within black communities that are prefigurative and that posit the assumption that black people exist in the future and we are free there.
Design FROM the margins – We are tricksters. We didn’t go to school for design. We’re harnessing, stealing, and hacking design tools and making them our own so that those at the margins and intersections can define and solve their own problems using the incredible assets we know we have.
Third Culture Perspective – The margins are really the intersections or borders. They are complex places and the people who inhabit them are quite often best positioned to think about complex issues in creative ways. We’re crossing borders and adapting to new realities all the time. This makes us innovative, creative, and adaptable. Skills that are really important for design.
Love Amplified – When we come together in a spirit of love to solve our problems together the impact is far greater than the individuals involved.
People
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Founder/Creative Director
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Artistic Director
Get Involved
We’re available to engage with Black-led collectives, communities, organizations and coalitions on designing Black utopias. You can also attend one of our public offerings/collective imagination ciphers or bring us in to help you develop an original story world for a creative project.