Final day of UX Australia!
The last keynote speaker is @Dori_Danthro — Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University
—
Decolonizing Design: Six Steps to Transformation
#uxa2021 #uxaustralia
The last keynote speaker is @Dori_Danthro — Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University
—
Decolonizing Design: Six Steps to Transformation
#uxa2021 #uxaustralia
Dori begins by acknowledging the original owners of the land 
Dori is at OCAd, the third largest art and design institution in North America, the largest in Canada.
She has 2600 students, 80 fulltime faculty and 250 part time faculty.
To give context about the scale she's working at.
She has 2600 students, 80 fulltime faculty and 250 part time faculty.
To give context about the scale she's working at.
Dori is the first black female dean of an art faculty anywhere.
The ethos at OCAD University is respectful design.
It comes from the ways in which design has been disrespectful to the environment, women, Indigenous and black communities.
How can they bring respect to a practice that affects so many peoples lives.
It comes from the ways in which design has been disrespectful to the environment, women, Indigenous and black communities.
How can they bring respect to a practice that affects so many peoples lives.
How can we make amends for the disrespect of design.
The values of design have been colonial, white supremacist, patriarchal and capitalist. All quite harmful to the student which Dori engages with.
The values of design have been colonial, white supremacist, patriarchal and capitalist. All quite harmful to the student which Dori engages with.
Dori is explaining the Settler Colonial State.
The three different positionalities of people in a SCS
Part of colonisation is setting up rules and systems that are genociadal to non Europeans.
The three different positionalities of people in a SCS
Part of colonisation is setting up rules and systems that are genociadal to non Europeans.
A lot of the issues we have of appropriation and misappropriation of Indigenous design and motifs are from the belief we don't have Indigenous people and you don't need to go into consultation with these communities to understand and use Indigenous motifs
When Dori speaks about it to Indigenous colleagues and guests, the deep harm is that these communities have lost so much from colonisation, language, family, cultural practices and the only thing left is the motifs — and they're often related to the sacred.
In the case of enslaved populations — the people are unassimilatable — stripped of their language, communities and culture.
1681 in Virginia is the first time you see White Supremacy becoming the law in north america before spreading to the world
1681 in Virginia is the first time you see White Supremacy becoming the law in north america before spreading to the world
These are the contexts we design withing.
The cotton gin was invented by a Yale grad who saw inefficiencies on the plantation.
After it's invention the number of slaves increased from 300k to 3 million.
The cotton gin was invented by a Yale grad who saw inefficiencies on the plantation.
After it's invention the number of slaves increased from 300k to 3 million.
The efficiencies of the cotton gin directly impacted the dispossession of Indigenous land and the increase of slaves in the US.
People referred to as People of Colour (PoC) are people who have to make tough choices about assimilation but who always face racism.
When teaching design Dori has to understand the context that the students will encounter design
In the context of Australia Indigenous and Blak come together — the colonial dispossession as well as the elements of slavery (blackbirding) where people were forced to work on ships and the sugar farms
We have the same appropriation and misappropriation of Indigenous culture.
We also have the racism and xenophoboia of new settlers who also experience the denigration of their culture
Liberating design from the modern design project.
The modernist project myth
—
It's very attractives and utopian — the modernist design project is colonisation 2.0 where technological possibilities serve a very specific european elite through the taking of indigenous land and extraction of labour
—
It's very attractives and utopian — the modernist design project is colonisation 2.0 where technological possibilities serve a very specific european elite through the taking of indigenous land and extraction of labour
Six Steps.
1. Put Indigenous Demands first.
This image is from the first Indigenous faculty hire at OCAD
This image is from the first Indigenous faculty hire at OCAD
2. Own up to the Institutions Racism and White Supremacy
Having difficult conversations — one example was whiteness without white supremacy. One of the things that came out of it was changing the institutions values.
Having difficult conversations — one example was whiteness without white supremacy. One of the things that came out of it was changing the institutions values.
3. Establish authentic relationships to BIPOC communities
How are you being present about building true consultation and relations.
The KPI Dori uses is when the community feels entitled to your resources — when they feel that institution is a community resource
How are you being present about building true consultation and relations.
The KPI Dori uses is when the community feels entitled to your resources — when they feel that institution is a community resource
4. Make the call for applications about BIPOC community interests, not just your interests.
Image 1 is the black cluster hire & Image 2 is the Indigenous cluster hire
Image 1 is the black cluster hire & Image 2 is the Indigenous cluster hire
5. Define qualification standard that take into account systemic exclusion.
If we want to be truely inclusive OCAD needed to broaden their idea of what their ultimate hire was.
If we want to be truely inclusive OCAD needed to broaden their idea of what their ultimate hire was.
6. Hire (in 3's) for Critical Mass
In one year OCAD doubled their Black faculty.
YOu need to have diversity at the level of Power, the level of Influence and the Entry level.
We need Entry level, Middle Management & Executive
In one year OCAD doubled their Black faculty.
YOu need to have diversity at the level of Power, the level of Influence and the Entry level.
We need Entry level, Middle Management & Executive
Dori is running a course on how to hire.
The Six Steps from Dori
Heading into Q&A!
Q: Is the job on white people to decolonise the systems we created?
A: It takes you to dismantle them, to begin to want to make the sacrifices of the comfort of your life to create space for other to fully participate in society and belong on their own terms.
A: It takes you to dismantle them, to begin to want to make the sacrifices of the comfort of your life to create space for other to fully participate in society and belong on their own terms.
One meeting Dori had where an Indigenous student was participating in a committee a white associate dean was bringing up issues where a design was going to increased barriers. The student said it was such a relief to hear that and not have to teach the teachers not to harm them
You want the students to just be students and not have to carry the burden of having to stop the institution from harming them.
How much creativity and freedom is possible when people aren't burdened by having to explain the necessity of their basic humanity.
How much creativity and freedom is possible when people aren't burdened by having to explain the necessity of their basic humanity.
You exist because you're beautiful in your existence not because you bring value to me.
Q: I am a white immigrant by choice, what are the responsibilities?
A: Learn about the land, the land acknowledgement is your beginning process of what you need to know about the land and the Peoples position to land and understand what it means to be their guest to the land.
A: Learn about the land, the land acknowledgement is your beginning process of what you need to know about the land and the Peoples position to land and understand what it means to be their guest to the land.
To learn and be in true allyship (you don't get to decide what that is) You have to demonstrate you're putting Indigenous demands first.
Dori didn't to the Black cluster hire first, she did the Indigenous cluster hire first.
Dori didn't to the Black cluster hire first, she did the Indigenous cluster hire first.
Answer to another question:
The unpacking of the relationships can be very painful, no-one is completely innocent and we need to decide how we move forward to Indigenous Sovereignty.
The unpacking of the relationships can be very painful, no-one is completely innocent and we need to decide how we move forward to Indigenous Sovereignty.
Q: Other orgs doing great work
A: There's so much work coming out with George Flyod & Indigenous water protectors
Rhode Island institute of design — giving back Indigenous work stolen, Black cluster hires, decolonising the curriculum
A: There's so much work coming out with George Flyod & Indigenous water protectors
Rhode Island institute of design — giving back Indigenous work stolen, Black cluster hires, decolonising the curriculum
The advertising industry is having important conversations and actually making change.
Sid Lee are hiring diverse communities, doing pro bono work and using their power to tell better stories.
Dori sees the values they're teaching at OCAD are aligned with Sid Lee
Sid Lee are hiring diverse communities, doing pro bono work and using their power to tell better stories.
Dori sees the values they're teaching at OCAD are aligned with Sid Lee
In Australia the work has been done at Swinbourne, UQ, Deakin — the key is building it into the unique context of an institution so it doesn't rely on a single person doing it.
There are a lot of ATSI designers who are doing great work.
There are a lot of ATSI designers who are doing great work.
For Dori the model is the Koori Heritage Trust for us to learn about and model ourselves.
Q: Reparations bill, relation of design and politics
A: Yes I believe in reparations, if was can spend trillions of dollars over 20 years to not rebuild a nation we can afford reparations.
A: Yes I believe in reparations, if was can spend trillions of dollars over 20 years to not rebuild a nation we can afford reparations.
If reparations could close the gap of wealth inequality — but we're having issues getting bills past at the moment — we're probably a couple generations away from being abel to have that reckoning
Design is politics and politics is design.
God bless the Australian ballet for designing democracy.
Our experience of community is how we design our civic squares, there's no aspect of politics that isn't designed. It may be designed for harm, or poorly, but it's been deisgned
God bless the Australian ballet for designing democracy.
Our experience of community is how we design our civic squares, there's no aspect of politics that isn't designed. It may be designed for harm, or poorly, but it's been deisgned
The more politically savvy, engaged and determine our values about respect, democracy, transparency in everything in peoples lives that how we help people believe that change is possible.
Q: Dean Drag on instagram
A: No-one knows what it means to be the first Black Dean of a design faculty, it's to give people a glimpse of authentic leadership — communicting mostly to her students about what it means to be truely who you are as a leader
A: No-one knows what it means to be the first Black Dean of a design faculty, it's to give people a glimpse of authentic leadership — communicting mostly to her students about what it means to be truely who you are as a leader
The meetings, the decisions, the day to day so that you can do it authentically and know what it means to be in that room of power and position.
You can't be it if you can't see it. It's about making the role visible to people can imagine themselves doing it!
You can't be it if you can't see it. It's about making the role visible to people can imagine themselves doing it!
@threadreaderapp unroll please!
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