In this talk, Matsipa addresses western perceptions of Africa as a site for the projection of colonial fantasies. She discusses the way in which such perceptions have been made possible by the displacement and enslavement of Black people, who are largely rendered “unmappable” — that is, with no stable spatial-temporal references.  From this creative and liminal place, Matsipa argues, architects and artists in Africa and the global diaspora offer a bridge between a harrowing past and a potentially redemptive future. She examines various works by Black people and the physical and figurative pathways that they build. 

Dr. Matsipa is based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a 2021-22 Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has written critical essays on art and architecture and curated several exhibitions and discursive platforms, including co-curating the South Africa Pavilion at the 11th and a collaborative art installation at the 14th International Architecture Exhibitions, Venice Biennale (2008; 2021); chief curator of African Mobilities at the Architecture Museum, Pinakothek der Modern in Munich (2018); and Studio-X Johannesburg, in South Africa (2014-2016).

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