Imagining Otherwise umfasst aktuelle und vergangene Projekte an der Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst FHNW, die nach sozial transformativer Lehr- und Design-Praxis und gerechteren Zukünften streben.
Das Projekt begann im Oktober 2018, vor dem Hintergrund umfassende feministischer Bewegungen, wie zum Beispiel der NiUnaMenos, dem Women's March, und dem Frauenstreik/feministischer Streik; gleichzeitig stieg seitens unserer Studierenden die Nachfrage für eine Designlehre, die sich patriarchal-kolonialen Narrativen entgegensetzt.
Inspiriert von der Forschung und dem Aktivismus der palästinensischen Designpädagogin und Forscherin Danah Abdulla, haben wir uns zusammengeschlossen, um uns Design Otherwise (anders) vorzustellen - eine Praxis, die kritisch, verortet, reflexiv und sozial transformativ ist.
An das Transformationspotentiall von Design glaubend und die Worte des Kolumbianischen Anthropologen Arturo Escobar wiedergebend, begannen wir uns zu fragen: “Wie kann Design von einem expliziteren Sinn für Politik durchdrungen werden?” Wie können wir an einer Rezentrierung der Design Ausbildung teilnehmen, indem wir sie spezifisch mit Strukturen von Ungleichheit, Sexismus, Rassismus und Kolonialismus in Beziehung setzen? Und wie können wir hegemoniale Epistemologien, Ontologien und Systeme aus einer eurozentristischen Institution heraus durchbrechen und nach gerechteren, pluralistischeren Zukünften streben?
Auf dieser Webseite könnt Ihr verschiedene Projekte erforschen, die seit 2018 umgesetzt wurden. Diese zielen weder darauf ab, die oben genannten Fragen zu beantworten, noch universell anwendbare Lösungen bereitzustellen. Stattdessen laden sie euch ein, euren Verstand für Alternativen zu öffnen und Räume für potentiellen Wandel aufzumachen – wie die feministischen Aktivistin und Autorin bell hooks sagt: einen “ Raum, wo es unbegrenzten Zugang zum Genuss und zur Macht des Wissens gibt, wo Transformation möglich ist (aus dem Englischen: “a space where there is unlimited access to the pleasure and power of knowing, where transformation is possible.”)
UnserTeam
Mayar El-Bakry: Co-Leiterin
Maya Ober: Co-Leiterin
Laura Pregger: Co-Leiterin
Imagining Otherwise wurde mitkonzipiert von Maya Ober and Laura Pregger. In 2019 ist Mayar El-Bakry dem Team beigetreten, um Educating Otherwise, ein fortlaufendes Lehrprogramm, zu co-kuratieren
This course explored the intersections of feminist thought, design, and political activism, interrogating how design is never neutral but always embedded within power structures. Through a combination of theoretical readings, discussions, and practical engagements, students examined how feminist perspectives challenge dominant narratives in design, from mobility and borders (Mahmoud Keshavarz) to social justice and Indigenous knowledge systems (Jéra Guarani, Antônio Bispo dos Santos). Key topics included the feminist killjoy as a figure of disruption (Sara Ahmed), the colonial legacies shaping Swiss design, and the role of queer use in subverting normative structures. By critically engaging with these themes, students questioned how design participates in the reproduction of systems of oppression and explore how design can be a tool for dissent, resistance, and institutional transformation.
Throughout the semester, students worked both individually and in groups to apply feminist methodologies to design research. They compiled an archive of colonial entanglements in Swiss design, map the intersections of activism, sustainability, and Indigenous epistemologies, and collectively assemble a "Feminist Killjoy Survival Kit" for art and design students. The course culminated in an exploration of bodies, space, and queer use, drawing from Sara Ahmed and Paul B. Preciado to rethink materiality, access, and affect in design. Ultimately, this course invited students to engage with design not only as a professional practice but as a site of political struggle, cultural negotiation, and radical world-making.
📖 Syllabus and the Reading List
Mar 5 🗣Introduction – Feminist Genealogies and Design Politics Intro
Mar 12 Reading and discussion of Design Politics
📚Keshavarz, Mahmoud “Introduction: Design, Politics, and the Mobility Regime.” In The Design Politics of the Passport: Materiality, Immobility, and Dissent, 1–19. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2019
🎧 Mahmoud Keshavarz /// What Forms of Politics Are Possible Through Design Today?, 2014. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0XUo9tPxAZmcGOaVCdArx4
❓Discuss the following questions in the group of 5-6:
What does design politics mean within your design, artistic, or educational practice?
Reflect on the narratives embedded within your passports or travel documents.
Mar 19 🗣What Can Design Learn from Feminisms?
Mar 26 Reading and discussion of Feminist Killjoy
📚Ahmed, Sara. The Feminist Killjoy Handbook. Milton Keynes Dublin: Allen Lane, 2023.
❓Assignment: In groups of 5-6 people try to outline some points for the survival kit of Feminist Killjoy Art and Design Students and write down your thoughts on the etherpad
How do you understand the term feminist killjoy?
What killing joy means in our school, in artistic and design practice?
16.04. 🗣Whose ‘apolitical’, ‘neutral’ and ‘universal’ design?
23.04. Discussion on Social Justice: Intersections of Activism, Design, and Sustainability
📚Guarani, Jéra. “Becoming Savage,” April 22, 2022.
https://futuress.org/stories/becoming-savage/
📚 Bispo dos Santos, Antônio “We Belong to the Land,” April 12, 2023
https://futuress.org/stories/we-belong-to-the-land/
❓Discuss the following questions in the group of 5-6
Discuss the significance of oral traditions and oral contracts within quilombola communities as opposed to written contracts imposed by colonial authorities. How does this relate to their connection to the land?
According to Antônio Bispo dos Santos, what is the difference between organic knowledge and synthetic knowledge? How do these different forms of knowledge impact societal structures and relationships?
How does Jerá Guarani discuss the concept of "becoming savage" in the context of Indigenous culture and environmental activism?
Can you identify any design principles or practices mentioned by Jerá Guarani that contribute to the preservation of Indigenous culture and the environment?
30.04. 🗣 Swiss Colonial History and its Entanglements in Design
07.05. 🇨🇭 Groups research Swiss colonial history in design through their archive
⚒️ Assignment: In groups of 5-6, please bring artifacts, objects, graphics, and practices that perpetuate colonial power imbalances. Consider connections to Switzerland and examine the designed world for manifestations and materializations of colonial practices. Compile this archive and share and discuss it within your group in the classroom.
14.05. 🗣 On Use – Learning Design with Sara Ahmed
🎬 Examined Life - Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor 720p.Avi, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0HZaPkF6qE.
21.05. Reading, Queer Use, Affect and Design – Sara Ahmed
📚Ahmed Sara “Conclusion. Queer Use.” In What’s the Use? On the Uses of Use,
197–230. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.
❓In groups discuss the following questions
28.05. 🗣Bodies and Spaces Final Class
In this class, we will engage in a lecture and a discussion. Additionally, please read the following text to expand the insights on the topic.
📚 Preciado, Paul B. “Trashgender: Urinate/Defecate, Masculine/Feminine.” THE FUNAMBULIST MAGAZINE, September 6, 2017.