Black Material Geographies - Episode 1
Precolonial Textile Cultures, Pt.1
In this first episode of Black Material Geographies, join host Teju Adisa-Farrar as she speaks with:
Tarik Farrar, Oakland based historical anthropologist with a focus in West Africa (also Teju’s father!)
Laurinda & Fatuma Ndenzako, sisters and founders of Collective Closets, a clothing brand in Melbourne Australia, celebrating the richness of African fabrics.
Episode highlights:
Material Culture: Technology and Innovation
As Teju describes, African textiles are significant as a reconnection to ancestors and land as well as a major factor in the success of the Western world.
Tarik introduces the idea of material culture as technology at its core and includes practices such as pottery, woodworking, and more.
Teju and her father discuss his pursuits in learning and understanding ancient practices of people worldwide, but especially Africa as it is frequently overlooked.
Tarik recounts historians challenging the stereotypical image of Africa, portrayed by both scholars and the media.
African Fabrics to the Modern Western World
Laurinda and Fatuma share the story of where their love of clothing derived, and how their brand, Collective Closets, became their way of honoring their mother and reconnecting to her home country, Angola.
The dying art form of creating fabric by hand is addressed, as mass manufacturing processes implemented by European rule made textiles cheaper and quicker to produce.
Learn about traditional materials, sheku and batik, and Laurinda and Fatuma’s deliberate choices in making sure African artisans reclaim these traditional textile practices.
Reset with Teju
Teju encourages listeners to absorb and reflect on the information learned today and to give thanks to the people and land that provides the things we may take for granted.
Guests
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Tarik Farrar
Tarik Farrar is an Oakland-based historical anthropologist with a focus in West Africa (also Teju’s father!).
Tarikhu Farrar's interest in the history of Africa and the African Diaspora had its origins in the rise of the Black Conciousness Movement of the late 1960s. Tarikhu was in his mid-teens at the time and very much an activist during this intellectural and cultural period. As an avid reader, he read everything he could get his hands on concerning "Black History." Only years later did her pursue formal academic training, receiving his baccalaureate degree from Harvard University and a PhD in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. He taught African and African-American Studies for more than thirty years. Tarikhu's teaching experience began at U.C. Berkeley, before joining the faculty at City College of San Francisco where he taught for twenty-eight years. This, in a very real sense, allowed him to return to his roots.
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Laurinda & Fatuma Ndenzako
Collective Closets was founded in 2016 by sister duo, Fatuma and Laurinda Ndenzako. Paying homage to their late mother and talented seamstress, Stella, the brand was born as a way to celebrate the women in their community. Together, the pair are passionate about telling stories, giving back and uniting women through a universal sartorial dialogue.