Ecologies of Participation Design Practices for Resignifying Territories
Abstract
Abstract
This MFA thesis engages the question of participation in design, and the question of technology
in participation through theoretical and material explorations. The departure point is a critical
instance towards design practices, inspired by contemporary theories in the field, and a review of
feminist methodologies and frameworks for action-research. Key concepts such as participation,
reflexivity, collaboration and mediation were explored through three workshops, conducted
between June 2020 and March 2021. The first workshop engaged reflexivity and positionality in
participatory design through the crafting of a collective accordion book. The second workshop
engaged participants in crafting mental cartographies of the territories they occupy during the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the third workshop provided a space to question the authority of maps
during the colonization of the American continent. Participants intervened the map where America
was first named, which later became a single exhibition piece. As a connecting device, the notion
of ‘territory’ is explored to refer to common areas of intellectual interest among design
practitioners, as well as physical and bodily spaces. This thesis proposes frameworks and
pedagogies for exploring such territories from a design lens, applying the learnings from theories
in critical making, critical design and feminism. As an articulation piece, the insights and
documentation of the research and workshops can be found in the design research blog:
https://medium.com/laboratorio-de-mundos.