The Institute of Black Imagination Podcast

Today we're honored to introduce our guest, Professor Lesley Lokko. A distinguished Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and bestselling novelist, Dr. Lokko most recently served as the Curator of the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture, becoming the first Black-identified person to hold the position. She’s also the founder and Director of the African Futures Institute (AFI) a pioneering postgraduate school of architecture in Accra, Ghana.

Today, we're excited to introduce Olalekan Jeyifous, an innovative artist and architect whose world-building practice reimaginations the relationship between community, urbanity, nature, and time; It’s very much giving Main Character Energy, and citizens of the Black Atlantic take centerstage.

In today's episode, we explore why urban design cannot exist without hip-hop. We lean into what can happen if we start to understand the nature of urban environments, and Sekou reminds us that whether it is hip-hop, your career, or practice, it's essential to make sure love is at the center of what you do.

In today’s conversation we explore our relationship to land, the importance of being attuned to spirit, what architects can learn from hip-hop, and the importance of not just repping your block, but understanding how it was made.

In today’s conversation, Dario sits with urbanist and architect Toni Griffin. Toni’s work asks us to question the design of our neighborhoods, communities, and cities. From values of belonging to voices of protection, Toni’s work calls us to stand in the center of who we say we are while gazing through the cities we claim to love.