Iyapo Repository

This event is now full. To join the waiting list, please email curatorial@vcu.edu.

Space is limited to 25 participants; RSVP required. 

The artist collective Iyapo Repository will facilitate a design-thinking workshop to envision new cultural artifacts to affirm and project the future of people of African descent. Each participant, acting in the role of an archivist of a museum of the future, will draw an artifact dealing with cultural domains such as politics, fashion, food, and health. The sketches will then be interpreted and physically manifested into functional objects by members of the collective to be displayed as new artifacts at future exhibits. Led by Ayodamola Okunseinde, co-founder and director, and Haja Mariama Jalloh, senior conservator. 

Iyapo Repository is an afrofuturist resource library that houses a collection of digital and physical artifacts. Named after Lilith Iyapo, a black woman in Octavia Butler’s book series Lilith’s Brood, who is one of the last survivors of the human race, Iyapo Repository archives manuscripts, films, drawings, rare media and more. Its special collections are created by the co-founders with the help of a collective of other archivists and community members who participate in their workshops.

Prior to the workshop, the Repository will also give a lecture at the ICA on Thursday, February 20th at 12:30 pm as a part of the VCUarts Graphic Design Objects and Methods lecture series.

Co-sponsored by VCUarts Department of Graphic Design.

http://www.iyaporepository.org/