Blakitecture: The Manifesto

BLAKitecture 2021/22 is shifting gears from our usual series of yarns across the season to a 3-day series of events in March. This year’s focus is to examine the structures and processes that we work within at each stage of the built environment process in order to highlight barriers and opportunities for change. The outcome of this series will be a manifesto outlining the steps we can all take to Indigenise the built environment.

MPavilion’s fifth annual BLAKitecture forum aims to centralise Indigenous voices in conversations about architecture, the representation of histories, and the present and future states of our built environments.

BLAKitecture is curated by MPavilion’s program consultant Sarah Lynn Rees.

This event series is part of Melbourne Design Week 2022.

Monday 21 March

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS YOU WERE TOO AFRAID TO ASK

2pm—4pm

Learning environments are supposed to be safe spaces in which students can feel they are uninhibited to ask anything and hopefully achieve a level of cultural competency previous generations of architects could only dream of. But, are you curious about how and why Indigenising the curriculum sometimes feels like there are persistent questions you never get to ask?

Here’s an open invitation to ask questions you’ve been too afraid to ask.

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INDIGENISING CURRICULUM: LISTEN FIRST

5pm—7pm

For the entirety of the period architecture and design have been part of university curriculums, Indigenous culture and heritage, First Nations perspectives and understandings of Country have been largely absent—or if present viewed through an anthropological lens rather than as a living culture. In recent times it has become clear this is not good enough. Yet with already packed curriculums where do we start? This yarn will bring together three academics and practitioners to share their experiences and the work they are doing in relation to Indigenising curriculum.

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tuesday 22 March

PLANNING WITH COUNTRY

2pm—4pm

The built environment industry is exploring how Country, community and culture can be embedded into their project outcomes. It is imperative that we first listen to Traditional Custodians and knowledge holders to inform how we plan with Country, which will form the basis of our discussion.

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A BID FOR TRANSPARENCY

5pm—7pm

EOIs, RFTs and the complexities of bid writing are a challenge within themselves. In this context, how do we also then appropriately address Indigenous engagement and Indigenous knowledge with limited time, resources and probity requirements? This yarn brings together built environment practitioners and Indigenous engagement specialists to share their experience with overcoming these inherent challenges and explore what systemic changes are required to create better outcomes for Country, Culture and Community.

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Wednesday 23 March

INDIGENISING CONSTRUCTION

2pm—4pm

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled.

MOB, MEDALS AND MEDIA

5pm—7pm

In Australia, there is a growing interest in a collaborative design process that engages with First Nations communities, Elders, consultants and designers. With the continued momentum of Indigenous engagement through design and beyond, how are we representing and acknowledging Indigenous voices in architectural projects after completion, in publications and awards programs? Join us as we discuss progressive inclusivity of Indigenous voices across these two public platforms that promote and value “Australian” architecture.

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