Few figures have left as profound a mark on the global architecture discourse in the 21st century as Professor Lesley Lokko. An architect, academic, and celebrated curator, Lokko has long challenged the structural conventions of architectural education and its limited representation of African and diasporic voices. From founding the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg to curating the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale — the first ever curated by an African woman — her career has consistently fused pedagogy, practice, and politics. Her Biennale, titled The Laboratory of the Future, set a powerful tone for a radically inclusive and speculative vision of architecture, one deeply rooted in the urgencies of decolonization, climate, and identity.
Building on that momentum, Lokko launched the Nomadic African Studio in 2024 through the African Futures Institute (AFI), which she founded in Accra in 2021. More than just a continuation of her critical work, the Studio represents a groundbreaking shift away from fixed academic models, embracing mobility — across geographies, disciplines, and ideologies — as a core pedagogical principle. The first edition is currently underway in Fez, Morocco, gathering young African and diasporic talents under 35 for an immersive, fully funded learning journey. With upcoming editions planned in Accra, Abidjan, Johannesburg, and Port Louis, the Studio interrogates themes of migration, decarbonization, and access while reimagining how architecture can be taught, practiced, and lived.
At Africans Column, we are deeply honored by the opportunity to engage Professor Lokko at this pivotal moment in her career and in the evolution of architectural education. In this interview, she reflects with extraordinary clarity and honesty on the lessons of the Venice Biennale, the roots of the Nomadic African Studio, and the enduring power of imagination in shaping African futures. It is a rare and vital insight into the mind of one of the most visionary thinkers working today.
Africans Column: The Nomadic African Studio was born out of reflections during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, which you curated under the theme “The Laboratory of the Future.” Could you share the pivotal moment or conversation that crystallized the idea for the Studio, and how it transitioned from concept to reality? How does it build on or evolve your ongoing work with the African Futures Institute?
Lesley Lokko: To be 100% accurate, the Nomadic African Studio actually came about after the Biennale College Architettura, the first-ever academic programme of the Venice Architecture Biennale. It was a challenging, sometimes uncomfortable and intense educational experiment which brought together African, diasporan and international participants. The mix was deliberate but it went off track very quickly as the power dynamics surfaced between participants as well as between faculty. It produced some fascinating questions and (for me, at least) deeper insights into the underlying tensions of race, class, geography and language, but it was hard going, again, at least for me. The idea to situate a similar experiment on the African continent came out of a conversation between some of the faculty — not all — who were determined to learn and grow from the experience.
When I began the African Futures Institute in 2021, I initially thought of it as a school. Over the subsequent few years, including the experience of the Venice Architecture Biennale, I started to think about it differently. I’ve been critical of mainstream architectural education for almost my entire career — it didn’t seem right to end my career replicating a structure I’ve had such doubts about. So, in some ways, shifting the AFI’s focus away from a school towards pedagogical experiences (or experiments) seems a more logical step.
Africans Column: The Studio is structured around movement—across geographies, ideas, and practices—departing from fixed institutional models of architectural education. How does this mobility shape both the philosophy and pedagogy of the Studio, and in what ways does it cultivate the kind of ambitious, dynamic thinkers and makers you believe the world urgently needs?
Lesley Lokko: Africa is generally described from the outside in two ways: as if it were a single place, and in relation to the cardinal points — North Africa, South Africa, East Africa, West Africa. The lack of specificity denies the nuance, richness, diversity and sheer differences that occur everywhere on this continent of nearly 1 billion people. It was important to attempt a programme that captured at least some of this diversity and it seemed as though movement, which has historically been such a feature of so much of African history, might be a key metaphor. Of course, attempting a nomadic programme comes with all kinds of other challenges — financial, cultural, institutional, organisational — but so far, it feels as though it was the right decision.
Africans Column: The Studio focuses on key themes—decolonization, decarbonization, migration, and climate change—that shape both the curriculum and city selection. How were these themes chosen, and how do they come alive in the context of cities like Fez, Accra, Johannesburg, Abidjan, and Port Louis?
Lesley Lokko: Although the programme has key themes, we felt it important to select themes that overlapped and merged, so that each Studio carries with it an echo of the previous year’s work. These seem to us to be a few of the key themes of our current historical moment — there are, of course, many others — but I felt it important to be as focused as possible whilst remaining open, otherwise everything becomes about everything and the specificity that’s required, at least initially, to begin work, gets lost or buried under the challenges of trying to cover everything simultaneously. I think it’s important to acknowledge the propositional nature of architectural education — in other words, it’s not only about critique and analysis, as important as they are, it’s also about the tools one offers to participants to produce, to propose, to speculate, to make. Each city was chosen for its relationship to one or more of our key themes: politics, identity, migration, climate, density, urbanity . . . there’s a little of everything in each, but the framing of each studio is key.
Africans Column: The Studio foregrounds access and diversity, with full funding provided for African and diasporic participants under 35. What measures are in place to ensure equitable participation, and how do you amplify the voices of those historically underrepresented in the global architectural conversation?
Lesley Lokko: This is probably the hardest question to answer. We start with several non-negotiables: for example, using a Nominating Committee that changes each time so that our own networks and connections don’t automatically dominate. We keep a constant eye on balance: ethnicity, language, nationality, gender, and previous educational experience. This year, we have 75% African and 25% diasporan participants, but that may also shift and change. Again, this year we had an age restriction in place which provoked outrage in some places, but we felt it important to focus on emerging voices under 35. This may also change. I think it’s important to acknowledge the experimental nature of this programme: our combined experience in teaching, research, practice and curatorship is formidable, but we don’t hold all the cards or answers.
Africans Column: Looking five or even ten years into the future, what is your vision for the Nomadic African Studio’s evolution? Do you imagine it becoming a permanent platform, adapting to new disciplines, or inspiring similar models beyond architecture and Africa?
Lesley Lokko: “I don’t know” is the only honest answer. Of course I would like it to inspire others, whether in architecture or in a more expanded field of built and natural environments, but I also recognise that it’s something over which I have absolutely no control. I have a five-year vision or plan because I’m in my 60s and can’t imagine working at this level of intensity for more than five years. Fundraising, organising, teaching, researching, dialoguing and anticipating challenges takes its toll. Whatever happens next, I have the complete and total satisfaction of knowing that I couldn’t possibly have worked any harder, and that’s a wonderful way to end one’s career.
Africans Column: On a personal level, how has leading initiatives like the Nomadic African Studio reshaped your own thinking about education, space, and power—and what continues to drive your commitment to radically reimagining African futures?
Lesley Lokko: Everything I’ve done over the past 30 years has led me to this point, and that’s not a facile or easy thing to say. There have been so many detours, mistakes, false starts and sheer errors, but these finally make sense. Without those experiences, I wouldn’t have the courage or tenacity to do this. I haven’t had a ‘job’ since resigning from CCNY, which isn’t always comfortable or easy but, equally, I wouldn’t trade the independence of my current situation (with all its insecurities) for anything else. In terms of drive, I would say my own experience as an African architecture student in the 90s is what I return to, time and again. I had the sheer good fortune of experiencing an education system that supported and encouraged my questions; it did not suppress them. In the 30 years since I graduated, I’ve rarely encountered the same. It’s not the fault of individual faculty or staff — over that time, I’ve met some exceptional educators whose talents for teaching and scholarship far outstrip mine. But I’ve rarely met an institution that functions in the same way. In so many places, including on the African continent, students seem to do good work in spite of the institution, and that strikes me as tragic. On reflection, African and diasporan students are the best students I have ever taught. Their capacity for imagination, creativity and critical self-reflection is second-to-none. Creating the spaces and experiences, whether fleeting or permanent, in which their ambitions might be fulfilled is the sum total of my work.
Conclusion:
Lesley Lokko’s work stands as a testament to the transformative potential of architecture when untethered from rigid, colonial frameworks. Through the African Futures Institute and the Nomadic African Studio, she is not merely redesigning spaces but reimagining systems—educational, social, and cultural. Her deep commitment to creating platforms that centre African and diasporic voices is reshaping what architectural education can be: mobile, inclusive, and grounded in lived experience. As the first cohort navigates the city of Fez, engaging with pressing global issues through a uniquely African lens, Lokko’s vision of a fluid, experimental, and future-facing education comes alive.
For us at Africans Column, this interview represents more than a moment—it’s a milestone. It affirms the power of African-led narratives and the urgency of documenting them as they unfold. We’re proud to share Professor Lokko’s reflections with our community and to continue amplifying the voices, stories, and initiatives shaping the future of the continent and its global diaspora.
