Seeding Culture: A Design Lab with Dr. Sechaba Maape

Facilitated by

Dr. Sechaba Maape

Dr Sechaba Maape is a South African designer, artist and academic based in Johannesburg. Originally from the Northern Cape Province, a region layered with deep archaeological histories and colonial formations such as De Beers, as well as resistance figures like Sol Plaatje, his work is grounded in this complex terrain. His 2011 Master’s research examined the erasure of indigenous histories under colonial and apartheid institutions, and his 2017 PhD investigated climate adaptation among early Southern African communities during the Holocene, drawing on indigenous knowledge as framework and method. In 2017 he founded Afreetekture, an experimental practice exploring how indigenous knowledge can inform new spatial practices toward decolonised and decarbonised futures. Working across drawing, painting and spatial installation, he develops what he calls repatriation by creation. Maape teaches at the University of the Witwatersrand, convenes the Master’s in Urban Studies in Sustainable and Energy Efficient Cities, and supervises postgraduate research in postcolonial discourse and sustainability. He co-curated and exhibited at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale and currently serves as editor of Architecture South African.