Our Voices II: The De-Colonial Project

Our Voices II: the DE-Colonial Project will showcase decolonizing projects which work to destable and disquiet colonial built environments. The land, towns, and cities on which we live have always been Indigenous places yet, for the most part our Indigenous value sets and identities have been disregarded or appropriated. Indigenous people continue to be gentrified out of the places to which they belong and neo‐liberal systems work to continuously subjugate Indigenous involvement in decision‐making processes in subtle, but potent ways. However, we are not, and have never been cultural dopes. Rather, we have, and continue to subvert the colonial value sets that overlay our places in important ways.

Kevin O’Brien is a decenedent of the Kaurereg and Meriam people of the Torres Strait in Far North Queensland. He has a B.Arch and M.Phil from the University of Queensland and is Professor of Creative Practice at the University of Sydney. He is a practicing architect and has completed a number of projects with Aboriginal communities throughout Australia.

Dr. Patrick Reid Stewart’s Nisga’a name is Luugigyoo. He has a PhD from the University of British Columbia and a MArch from McGill University and is an Adjunct Professor at the McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University. He is Chair of the Indigenous Task Force of the RAIC and a practising architect working mainly with First Nations communities and Aboriginal organizations throughout British Columbia.

Dr Rebecca Kiddle is Ngāti Porou and Ngā Puhi. She has a PhD and MA in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes University and is a Lecturer in Environmental Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, NZ and is co-chair (Pōneke) of Ngā Aho, Network of Māori Design Professionals.