MIKIRI

kellyn nettles

FIT School of Graduate Studies
Experience and Exhibition Design Thesis
December 2024

in the àrokò cooperative design to divest manifesto, we discuss the importance of creating with community, and how it can help us to imagine new worlds — worlds previously beyond our individual comprehension. i hope to explore how exhibition designers can be a part of the co-creation process for grassroots liberation organizations working toward building power in local communities.

demonstration in front of the national congress for the law on votes for women, buenos aires, 1948

testing for sickle cell anemia at community survival conference on march 31, 1972 in oakland. | courtesy stephen shames

mapuche people demonstrate on the seventh day of widening protests over living costs and social inequality in santiago, chile on october 24, 2019.

chicago black panther party leader fred hampton serving children as a part of the party’s free breakfast program

i hope to explore how exhibition designers can be a part of the co-creation process for grassroots liberation organizations working toward building power in local communities.

the following is a speculative proposal of that process — showcasing an exhibition experience and design opportunity for visitors to engage with decision making styles of the western nigerian igbo women - formally known as mikiri.

i choose to focus on the igbo people because their pre-colonial societies were autonomously guided. communities weren’t set up in the same political sense that we observe today: groups were formed based on shared values, principles, and spiritualities, and decisions were made in conversational environments.

mikiri gatherings were where women of the community were able to exercise their collective power. this is where they would discuss matters of trading and farming, and determine the norms to be set in these spaces.

if these norms weren’t abided by, the women would “sit on” or “make war on” a man — essentially using their physical collective power to protest and take a stand against wrongdoings.

what we can envision is that the clients, target audience, and exhibition designer (me), got together to develop goals for this project. those goals are as follows, but generally the main goal is to provide audiences with the opportunity to establish their own mikiri - a meeting to determine the actions necessary to have autonomy in our own neighborhoods.

before even visiting the exhibition, visitors are able to generate curiousity for the exhibition with intentionally placed signage. signage will be found near places visitors frequent: delis, bus stops, subway stations — neighborhood staples and high traffic points.

there will also be a wayfinding activation outside of the kingsborough houses that lead residents directly into the heritage center.

upon entering the exhibition, visitors will be met with direct and indirect references to igbo architecture. the introductory panels are located inside of this large carved wood archway, modeled after the carved doors found in Igbo compounds. the panels will include brief information about what a mikiri is, why it’s relevant to weeksville, and what they can expect from the exhibition. they will also see dimensional letting as they walk through the archway — a playful nod to the idea of “sitting on” a man.

from here the exhibition is split into to key areas: making the mikiri, an interactive engagement space, and the forum, a design incubator and live events/programming area. there will also be a reflection walk taking place outside.

in the making the mikiri area, there are two interactive activities and two content walls — offering visitors the opportunity to engage with the history of a mikiri, what it meant to igbo women, and how we’re interpreting it through the social change ecosystem framework, as developed by movement builder deepa iyer in 2017.

in the first digital interactive, visitors will congregate around a large digital “portal” that guides them through the mikiri process on individual-yet-connected tablet screens.

visitors will decide which movement role aligns with their goals, and build a new norm for the community around that role. they will then reflect with the larger group, and receive information about an event or action they can participate in the community based on this role.

while listening to protest chants and songs, visitors will be prompted to slap a sticker with their role onto the aluminum surface — increasing their awareness of the sounds of a protest, and making that space feel less intimidating to participate in.

to mirror the highly interactive making the mikiri space, the forum space is an open floor plan that is designed to allow for natural conversation amongst visitors, and provide space for research and engagement with libertory practice.

outside, there’s a moment of respite and relaxation — while still engaging with ideas of caring for the collective.

geometric stanchions will guide visitors through the story mamy wata and the monster — a folktale about mmuo mmiri’s generosity and openness, showcasing ways we can show love and care for our neighbors.

curiousity starts from outside, and takes you inside. in the interactive space, you begin to feel that connection to your community but also courageous in deciding how you want to show up in community spaces. you move into the community space, the forum, feeling engaged and empowered — either through a live event or your continued research and connection to others. outside, you have that moment to feel relaxed and recharged.

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