Textile Futures: Weaving a Decolonial Praxis
Last updated:
This is a high-level, self-paced studio-seminar for textile practitioners of African and Caribbean descent. Moving beyond theory, this course is a rigorous praxis laboratory. Through five distinct Journeys, you will actively diagnose coloniality in your work—from its epic historical systems to its internalized “cultural bomb”—and build tangible alternatives. Each Journey employs a different method: from mapping and auditing, to case studies, creative material prompts, and a final synthesis studio. You will produce a portfolio of actionable blueprints, manifestos, and prototypes, culminating in a Decolonial Atelier Charter for your liberated future practice. This is not just a course; it is a toolkit for creative and intellectual self-determination.
This course is built on a modular “Journey” system where each module has a distinct pedagogical style, preventing monotony and addressing different learning modes. The structure follows a clear arc: from external diagnosis to internal reflection, then to applied theory, creative experimentation, and finally synthesis.
📬 Personalized Feedback
To deepen your learning, you may submit your completed lesson tasks for personalized feedback from the instructor.
How to submit:
1. Complete all tasks for a single lesson.
2. Compose one email per lesson.
3. Use the subject line: Course Task – [Your Student Number] – Lesson/ Journey [Number]
4. Send your task response(s) as text in the body of the email or as a clear attachment (PDF, Word doc, or image) to:
education[@]timbuktu-group.africa
Example Subject Line: Course Task – STU-2024-001 – Lesson/ Journey 1
Please note that feedback is provided by the instructor and may take 5-7 business days.
Target audiences
- You are a textile artist, designer, weaver, or fashion practitioner of African or Caribbean descent. You feel a deep connection to your heritage but also a friction between that lineage and the dominant standards of the global design world.
- You are questioning the “why” behind your practice. You sense that the rules you were taught—about what is “good design,” “valuable,” or “innovative”—might be limiting, and you are ready to critically examine where those rules come from.
- You are seeking more than inspiration; you are seeking a methodology. You want a structured, intellectual, and practical toolkit to diagnose colonial influences in your work and build authentic, liberated alternatives rooted in your own cultural intelligence.
- You are ready to do the work. This is not a passive history lesson. It is a praxis lab that will challenge you to audit your portfolio, rewrite your artist statement, experiment with materials, and ultimately draft a manifesto for your decolonial atelier.
- If you are looking to move from feeling constrained by the system to actively redesigning your creative world, this course is your foundation.
Features
- For Practitioners, Not Theorists: A studio-lab format transforming theory into actionable tasks for your own work.
- 5 Varied Journeys: Each module uses a different method—audits, case studies, creative prompts, workshops—to prevent monotony.
- Decolonial Toolkit: Learn to apply core concepts (Coloniality of Power/Knowledge/Being) as practical diagnostic and design tools.
- Transformative Outputs: Create a portfolio of professional blueprints, manifestos, and a final Decolonial Atelier Charter.
- Designed for Identity: Content and pedagogy are built for the specific experiences of African & Caribbean textile practitioners.
Requirements
- Identity & Vocation: The course is designed for practitioners, artists, designers, and advanced students of African and Caribbean descent who are actively engaged in textile or material practices.
- Commitment to Praxis: Participants must be ready to move beyond passive learning into critical self-reflection and actionable change within their own practice.
- Openness to Discomfort: Engaging with decolonial theory involves confronting uncomfortable historical and personal realities. A willingness to sit with this discomfort is essential.
- · Studio Materials: While the course is theory-heavy, Journey 4 includes a hands-on material prompt. Participants will need access to basic textile/media for a small creative exercise (e.g., assorted threads, fabrics, paper, glue, or digital drawing tools)
- Willing to submit written reflections, analyses, and a final portfolio as your core coursework.
FAQs
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 5 Lessons
- 8 Hours
- Journey9
- 1.1JOURNEY 1: The “Epic School” and the Anatomy of Coloniality
- 1.2Quiz 1: The “Epic School” and Coloniality3 Questions
- 1.3JOURNEY 2: The Cultural Bomb and the Colonial Wound
- 1.4Quiz 2: The Cultural Bomb and the Colonial Wound3 Questions
- 1.5JOURNEY 3: The Decolonial Triad: Power, Knowledge, Being
- 1.6Quiz 3: The Decolonial Triad: Power, Knowledge, Being3 Questions
- 1.7Journey 4: Weaving the Pluriverse
- 1.8Quiz 4: Weaving the Pluriverse3 Questions
- 1.9Journey 5: The Decolonial Atelier – Synthesis Studio
Instructor
Leave a Reply