When deciding on my dissertation topic I started exploring fabric design and making in the African Diaspora. I had already completed some work with Adinkra symbols, and I wanted to continue exploring works in the diaspora. One day, I came across a designer near Detroit who created colorful fabrics and turned those designs into clothing. I watched her design process and contacted her to help redesign a computer science curriculum. Therefore, my dissertation topic explores how we can leverage making and fabric design to teach computational thinking and early computer science skills. While working, I came across the Fabric Map of Africa created by Priya Shah, a Kenyan textile designer and Founder of Mia Kora, a collection of wearable art pieces. When I saw this map, I knew I had to include it in my project. I desired to remix it into an interactive map connected to the stories of these fabrics. To deepen this project and launch a new project for my faculty career, my CHI Fellowship project will do this work.
The Threadscapes project is a representative digital tapestry of African stories. The major component of the project is an interactive map of different fabrics. Modeled after the Fabric Map of Africa by Priya Shah, the map will provide more context for the design and associated narratives. One of the most famous examples is Ankara fabrics. Ankara is a replication of the Indonesian batik style of resist dyeing. Batik uses melted wax to mark the design and keep specific areas of the cloth from being dyed. Early Dutch merchants mechanically rolled designs onto cloth for the Indonesian market; however, the Indonesian customers did not like the imperfect cracking in the designs. Across West Africa in the 1890s, a new market emerged. Several British and Dutch factories began producing Ankara for this new customer base. These European producers adapted Ankara designs to meet the color and pattern tastes of the West African customers. The crackling and bubbling imperfections of this resist dyeing technique soon became popular, intertwining with politics, religion, and wider culture.
I’m thrilled to work on this project. I have information for 6 fabrics and look forward to collecting more stories. Be on the lookout for this project in spring 2025!
— Madison Allen Kuyenga