A conversation with Trish Mwenda who was recognized for the best Masters Student work in 2023 by the Association of Professional Futurists.
Interviewed by: Peter Hayward
Notes
Patricia (Trish) Mwenda, is a versatile Innovator, Researcher, and Educator, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, and now based in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Master's of Design in Digital Futures from OCAD University, specializing in advanced design techniques.
Trish's expertise spans diverse domains, including Wearable Technology, Black Futures, Design for Health, and Academic Research. She imparts her knowledge as an Instructor to undergraduate students.
Her design passion intertwines seamlessly with her African heritage, infusing cultural motifs into her creations, blending tradition with modernity, and garnering global recognition in the realm of Afrofuturism.
Trish is a visionary designer whose impact resonates across the industry. Her innovative work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, testifying to her unwavering dedication and expanding expertise in design.
Trish (she/her/hers)
Studio Class Assistant, X-Fab
Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Arts and Science
OCAD University
More About Trish
Website - https://www.trishkanana.com/portfolio_about
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciamwenda/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/trishkanana/?hl=en
Thesis Project - https://www.trishkanana.com/portfolio_thesis
Transcript
Peter Hayward: Since 2011 the Association of Professional Futurists have recognized the best work of students studying Futures and Foresight at university. I find it exciting to hear and meet talented and enthusiastic people who find the futures and foresight community through their studies. And I love to hear about the futures that those people wish to bring into being.
Trish Mwenda: And so, since I joined the Futures and Foresight community, there's a lot of bodies of work that are geared towards Western perspectives is what I found within this realm of Futures. And so, coming from Kenya, yes, there's a lot of people within the space of Futures but of course not everyone understands it. And what I think about is how to make futures relatable to diverse cultures and how do we start to get more people excited about it because it's such a niche space as well. And so, when we start to see these other genres of futures coming up, and so I've talked about Afrofuturism and African Futurism, but then there's also Indigenous Futurisms there is Indo Futurism, which comes from India and so on. And so, it opens doors for other parts of the world to start designing futures that relates to their everyday struggle and experiences instead of adopting futures concepts that are not necessarily designed for them.
Peter Hayward: That is my guest today on Futurepod, Trish Mwenda who was judged to have done the best piece of futures work at the Master's level while studying at OCAD university.
Welcome to FuturePod, Trish!
Trish Mwenda: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Peter Hayward: It's a pleasure, Trish. Our starting question for our guest, Trish, for people who listen to FuturePod, is their story question. So, what's the Trish Mwenda story? How did you end up in the Futures and Foresight community?
Trish Mwenda: Yes so, my creative practice began with my passion for art and design and so growing up in Kenya, I loved to draw and paint and make things from such a young age, and I was always like I always knew I wanted to be in the creative space however, that looked like. But then again being from Kenya being in the creative space is not necessarily celebrated and you feel this pressure of either trying to be a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer. But that didn't stop me because my parents were very supportive, and they really encouraged me to go after my dreams.
And so, my academic journey within the Design space began in Kenya where I took Art and Design course before joining my university. And then I moved to Malaysia where I joined Limkokwing University where I did my undergraduate degree in Industrial Design. And through my work and through all the work that I was doing in undergrad I always felt that something was missing in terms of yes, I can design something, let's say, for example, a smartwatch. And I know how it looks on the exterior, but I always wanted to know what's happening inside, what are all the electronic pieces and like trying to bring those two components together. And so, after I graduated, I moved back to Kenya. And joined a 3D printing company where we worked to lower the barriers of entry to 3D printing by building the printers from locally sourced materials and E waste.
And so, this was my first experience, dealing with or seeing this other side of the electronics and watching the engineers build the printers. And I was like, this is the piece that I was missing. This is what I need to now look towards and like my next step in my career. And so that's how I ended up joining OCAD University, where I was in the Master of Design in Digital Futures program. And as I was applying for this program, I actually didn't know. What Digital Futures was I just saw the course. It looked interesting. And I'm like, okay, let me see what this is about. And once I started doing the course I was like, completely taken aback because it was this was the missing piece that I needed. I was doing courses like physical computing and creation and computation, which is not necessarily get to words like that Engineering mindset, but it's more, yeah. of a creative way to prototyping using electronic pieces and components.
And so, a lot of my work through that research and through, growing up in Kenya and then also combining my passion for Art and Design and now having this missing piece that's how I ended up joining or becoming part of the Futures and Foresight community and so once I started the program. There's one course which was called Possible Futures. And so, this was my introduction to this idea of Futurist thinking. And so, my research focus was within the realm of Emerging Technologies, more specifically Wearable Technology. And that's what I focused on for my thesis project. Where I designed a speculative Afrofuturist wearable device tailored to aiding individuals specifically from Kenya who have faced domestic abuse cope with their mental health by bringing together elements of Kenyan culture and existing mental health interventions.
Peter Hayward: Yeah, that's a big mouthful, isn't it? Can you maybe for the listeners just unpack it? Cause there's a lot going on when that became the object of your thesis.
Trish Mwenda: Yes. So, from my own personal experience growing up in Kenya mental health was not really something that was talked about. There's no spaces for people to just come together and meet and talk about mental health. And so that was I guess the turning point of my research. And I want to bring in a conversation through a different lens. So that we can start having these tough conversations, not only mental health, but all the things that are happening. And especially during COVID, a lot of things were heightened. And so, using this idea of futurist thinking specifically Afrofuturism and African Futurism, which is what I specifically focused on within the frameworks of my research. Before I started my research, I didn't really know what these terms meant.
I heard of the term of Afrofuturism and Black Futures in passing, especially when the Black Panther movie came out. And. I always saw it as this aesthetic way of thinking, but then what I found interesting about Afrofuturism is that it's continually changing with the time, and so its meaning keeps evolving to correlate to present day cultures and context. And so, what I would describe Afrofuturism is as a multifaceted framework that creates inclusion by bringing impactful solutions to Black Futures, to Black cultures and histories. Traditionally it has been viewed as an aesthetic idea, but it offers a much deeper layer of innovation and imagination, but then also comes this term African futurism, which is a little bit different. And I can talk about that.
Peter Hayward: Maybe just before you do, can I just take you back? So, who is Afrofuturism talking to?
Trish Mwenda: Yes. So, I'd say Afrofuturism came from the Western Diaspora and so a lot of the works within it speak to more of African Americans because that's where it's originally from and it's geared towards the Western perspective or lived perspective of black people in the West.
Peter Hayward: It's actually talking to are people that are not where they came from. They're culturally displaced, but it is, to some extent, trying to retain or transform culture, but using some of the tropes of science fiction and so forth to give it a particular edge.
Trish Mwenda: Yes, that's in the general sense how it's described where they're trying to create their stories that's also not because when you're talking about futures it really has this Western perspective. And so, trying to bring in these different voices. And I would say yes, Afrofuturism is from people who are not originally from where they're from, but then it speaks to their own personal experiences by bringing this idea of telling Black stories in a whole different perspective.
Peter Hayward: Interesting. Clearly while Afrofuturism will locate it within the African diaspora, but one would imagine it's a concept of culture in the future that could be applied to different cultures and called something else, couldn't it? It could be used by Korean. It could be used by South Asian. The same concept
Trish Mwenda: Yeah. There was also someone from the Digital Futures program who did their thesis on Indo futurism. So, it opens up to a wider audience as well.
Peter Hayward: And I stopped you from explaining this other concept called African Futurism.
Trish Mwenda: Yes, so African Futurism is a term that was coined by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor, which she describes as a subcategory of science fiction centered and rooted in Africa. And so, these are... Ideas that come from the African continent where we're trying to tell stories. We're trying to tell our narrative through our own voices.
And so within like my thesis project where I focus specifically on Kenya, because that's where I'm from. And this is like what I know. We usually wear the Kenyan band, which is which has the national colors of our flag. It's a beaded bracelet that most Kenyans wear. And so, as I was designing my wearable device not everyone knows about the Kenyan band. That's how you'd know about it. And so, I was trying to bring these two ideas together. How do I tell this Kenyan story, but then also make it more accessible to wider audiences. And so, I thought of this idea of bringing both the Afrofuturism perspective and the Africanfuturism perspective. The Afrofuturism will bring focus to a much larger audience because that's what a lot of people around the world know. And then the Africanfuturism side of things is trying to explain Futurism to Kenyans, since that's what I was focusing on. You just don't meet someone on the street and you're like, Oh, do you know what futurism means?
It's not a term that everyone knows. And so, thinking about how do I bring. These elements of Kenyan culture with this idea of Afro and African futurism to tell a story and start up conversations. Yeah.
Peter Hayward: We're going to come back and play some more with this a bit later in the interview. I just want to move it forward. Now the audience know this, but I'm going to say it again. Yours was judged this year as the best piece of student work in the Association of Professional Futurists Masters Individual Student Award. So, congratulations for your work and your thesis and the recognition from the Association of Professional Futurists.
Trish Mwenda: Thank you. Thank you so much.
Peter Hayward: What's it like to be recognized by Professional Futurists. What does it mean for Trish to be judged as the person who's done the best work?
Trish Mwenda: I was actually very surprised when I got the email. Actually I, because the application process was like some time back, I had even forgotten that I had applied in the first place. And so, at the time I had actually just come back to Toronto. I had gone home to visit my family and then I got the email. And I think my first reaction was just surprise and I started to go through all the motions and thinking so many people applied for this, and I was the one that was picked and I honestly was just lost for words. I didn't know how to express myself or what to feel. I was feeling so many things and nothing all at the same time.
Peter Hayward: Yeah. In another role I chair the student's award process. I don't do very much. There are other people do much more than I do. I wonder is it important that organizations like the APF have things like Student Awards?
Trish Mwenda: I would say yes, because throughout my thesis project, this is the first time I was ever writing a thesis and just going through the motions of trying to figure out what kind of language I need to use. Am I like doing the right work? Because I'm not really a specialist in my field as yet. I'm still like figuring it out and trying to figure out like what exactly I'm working towards. And so this was I would say that validation and it really helped me to come out of myself in terms of always I always have that mental model of trying to put myself down and the work that I'm producing is, not good enough. And so this was A really good turning point for me, and I would really encourage like for more people to apply for it and that the program should continue. And it's actually very valuable.
Peter Hayward: Awesome. Thanks, Trish. So back to your story. So, the thesis goes in, that happened last year. You have, you then graduated, I'd imagine from OCAD.
Trish Mwenda: Yes. So, I graduated, last year in June. And so, since I graduated, I have gone into the realm of research, fabrication, and academia. So, I currently work at OCAD immediately after I graduated, I worked as a research assistant in the social body lab, curating, facilitating and leading wearable workshops. I then also teach a Wearables course at Toronto Metropolitan University in the new media program, the course is called cybernetics and body centric technologies where I teach my students to incorporate technology into garments effectively through different craft practices and digital fabrication techniques. I'm also currently a studio assistant at OCAD. There's a new. Fabrication Studio called the Experimental Fabrication Studio or X-FAB. And so, I work to offer support to the students, staff, and faculty.
Peter Hayward: And so, you've become very grounded and obviously in your love around design, but also in this kind of wearables and the kind of engineering space, do you think that? The kind of dalliance into futures and foresight and possibility and change. Do you think that is something that you will also find space to express yourself in, or was that something you did then? And you'll just focus on, the here and now?
Trish Mwenda: I would still like to read more and find out more about futures and foresight. I did really enjoy the process of working on my thesis and reading about all these different works and different projects from futurists, even some futurists from Kenya. So, it's really been encouraging to know that I'm not alone and I'm not the only one. There's other people also using Afrofuturism as a framework to help them realize their own works and their own projects. And that's also what I'm working towards.
Peter Hayward: Great. So, we go into a little bit more around the futures approach. And I'm going to start you off with a question that I've already foreshadowed with you before we started recording, because when I looked at your work, it struck me, unlike a lot of my colleagues who imagine the future and try to imagine or visually create words to describe it. We might even draw little pictures of it to say a future like this or this thing happening in the future that you went a considerable step further than most of what we do because you actually crafted the artifacts. And they weren't just things that you called wearables. These were actually wearables, and they actually were not pretending to be electronic devices. You actually built electronic devices that were wearable. Yes. And I would imagine you wore them around. And my question to start this is what did it mean for your whole thinking and imagining and designing process to actually have a tangible object that you have built. As part of your thought process?
Trish Mwenda: Yes. I think for me I'm a very like visual thinker. So, if something is not in front, if I'm not seeing it, then yes, I can imagine it, but I need to feel it and see it for me to be able to conceptualize it at a much deeper level. And so, as I was working on my thesis project some of my research objectives included exploring wearable technology as a contemporary or additional P T S D intervention for people who have experienced domestic abuse in Kenya. And then it was to leverage Afro and African futurism as a design lens to reimagine PTSD treatment and showcase themes related to inclusivity and empowerment. And then lastly, borrow design influences from Kenyan culture to highlight the importance of raising awareness of domestic abuse in Kenya.
And so, a part of, as I was working on my on the designs and my prototypes, I had one thing that came out of it that was like unplanned, which was, yes, I designed the wearable, the functional wearable device that helps people cope with their mental health. Then I ended up also designing a second iteration of this wearable that is to be worn by the larger Kenyan population, which was supposed to be a way to bring like action or bring awareness and show support for people who have experienced domestic abuse, as well as also bring awareness to mental health. And so, this device was also designed to look like the Kenyan band to some extent. And then also in terms of the keeping the design as the Kenyan band. One thing I was thinking about is I'm also trying to not call attention to the people that are wearing the device. And so, designing it as a version of the Kenya band keeps it discreet. But then inside it or there's, it's also helping the wearer. Yes.
Peter Hayward: And you wear a Kenya band?
Trish Mwenda: Yes, I do. I'm actually wearing one right now.
Peter Hayward: And this band was the thing you called the Tulia band? Were you wearing it with the Kenya band or you're wearing it instead of the Kenya band?
Trish Mwenda: So, I was wearing it with the Kenya band.
Peter Hayward: And did people ask about it?
Trish Mwenda: I had a few people, yes, come up to me. And then I was also fortunate enough to be invited to the HASTAC conference in New York, where I got to present my thesis project there as well. And because I hadn't talked about it in such a long time this was a year after I graduated. I just went there in June talking about it again, really made me get excited and want to start thinking about how to have the next version and the next iteration of the band.
Peter Hayward: Okay. Given that, you are obviously in your current career at OCAD, and all the different demonstration work you'll, and research and laboratory work you're currently doing. Are there any particular frameworks or approaches that you encountered doing the Foresight and Futures Design stuff that you actually are borrowing and using now?
Trish Mwenda: Yes. One of them is Afrofuturism, which I've talked about in great length. And another way I would describe Afrofuturism is that it's a literary and cultural aesthetic that uses science fiction and references to African and non-Western mythology to confront and analyze issues faced by people of color. And so, a lot of the work that I do now is still geared towards that.
I did a project on language with one of my former classmates, who's now my friend. She's from Canada, but of Congolese descent. And then of course, I'm from Kenya. And so, we interviewed different people, and we told them to use like their traditional languages. And so, I interviewed some of my friends and family and she did the same. And we created a website that archived all these languages. And so now, like the next, thinking about the next version and the next iteration of this project, how can I make it interactive? And I'm in the process of doing the research on how I can have it such that it has a capacitive touch element. And so, you'd go up to a couple of pieces and once you touch it, one of the texts or one of the interviews that we did comes up either on the screen and just gives like the translation in English what the person is talking about and what the person is saying.
Peter Hayward: Okay You've been exposed to this notion of the emerging future around us, the fact that the future is not written, it's not planned, it emerges. Partly planned, very disruptive, but you yourself are now at least partly conditioned to understand the notion of the signs of the future emerging. So, what are the things around Trish that you're paying particular attention to? The things either emerging around you in Canada or back home in Kenya or even somewhere else in the world, but what are you paying attention to and why?
Trish Mwenda: Yes. Through my travels I noted one consistent thing in my work, and that is I design from what I know. And a lot of my work and research is geared towards Kenya because that's my home. And even though I've lived in all these different countries, yes, I understand the cultures, but then I don't necessarily relate to them fully. And so, since I joined the Futures and Foresight community, there's a lot of bodies of work that are geared towards Western perspectives is what I found within this realm of Futures. And so, coming from Kenya, yes, there's a lot of people within the space of Futures but of course not everyone understands it. And what I think about is how to make futures relatable to diverse cultures and how do we start to get more people excited about it because it's such a niche space as well.
And so, when we start to see these other genres of futures coming up, and so I've talked about Afrofuturism and African Futurism, but then there's also Indigenous Futurisms there is Indo Futurism, which comes from India and so on. And so, it opens doors for other parts of the world to start designing futures that relates to their everyday struggle and experiences instead of adopting futures concepts that do not, that are not necessarily designed for them. And so, as I'm still new to the futures and foresight I of course don't have all the answers to these questions that pertain to futures design. And as I was working on my thesis project and started to understand Afrofuturism as a framework and not just as a cool genre of futures that includes people that look like me. I've continued to explore that realm and dig deeper into how futures can be used to really tell stories and bring audience and help audiences understand, beyond these, like the jargon that lives around futures that's a bit more complex. How do we simplify it?
Peter Hayward: I might just take what you've talked about to have a plug for another APF thing that's coming up. What are called the IF awards or the IF awards are coming up. The nominations are coming up for them next month. And one of the categories of award they nominate for are Indigenous Futures. And the work that won it last year, the most significant piece of Indigenous Futures was some Maori Futures work that was done again for Maori, but also using the cultural language and elements of Maori culture. And it won the IF won the award. And this year I just did a podcast with the organizing committee and hopefully that podcast will be out. It might even be out as yours is coming out, Trish. And the call for nominations is in October, so anything that can be done to encourage people who have done any kind of indigenous futures work. They don't have to be a professional futurist. That's not the point of the award. The award is to recognize and call out and highlight people who are doing exactly what you described. That would be awesome if what you're asking for is actually what the IF Awards are trying to celebrate.
Trish Mwenda: Yes, absolutely.
Peter Hayward: The communication question, how you describe it, as I say, it's always a challenge for all of us. When I was teaching Futures, when I was learning Futures, it was always difficult to explain to your mum, or the person you met in the street, what it was you were doing, and and often parents were a very hard audience because parents wanted you to have a good life and an easy career and everything else and they wanted to have a nice secure job. And so all of us have, gone through this process of how do you explain what it is you do to people who don't understand what it is you do? Trish, how do you do that?
Trish Mwenda: Yeah. So, like I mentioned earlier in the podcast I am part of the Emerging Technologies field, specifically Wearable Technologies. And even though I would say I'm part of the futures community, I still don't necessarily see myself as a futurist. I think that's something I'm working towards. And so, depending on who I'm talking to, I'll always have a different answer. And so, my background is in Industrial Design. And even that itself, like not many people know what that means. And right now, I'm currently an Educator which I also never saw myself in this space. But it's it's also been a really rewarding journey.And I think it's also leading me towards my path. I also find it interesting the ways.
My friends and family describe what I do. So, I get Researcher, Fabricator, Designer, Educator, Technologist. Sometimes I just get, oh, she deals with computers. And I'm like, okay. And all of these things, I would say, describe a part of who I am as a whole, because I do a lot of different things that kind of just somehow intertwine and come together. But if I was to describe who I am I actually don't have a direct answer to it because I feel as though I wear so many hats. But if I was to be able to put a label on it or have a description on it, I would say that I design things from a place of passion. And so, all these things I have talked about, research, emerging technologies, fabrication, et cetera. I use my skillset to bring things to life through design. And I am sometimes too optimistic, and I would say that no idea is too big to achieve.
Peter Hayward: I think you need to consider whether you obviously add Entrepreneur to that, but certainly also, I think you also need to add a Leader because you are leading or inspiring people to take leadership of their situation. I think you need to maybe add that one to your list of hats.
Thanks Trish. We're at the end of the interview. So can you maybe just wrap up. Your journey is nowhere near played out. You've got a long way to go. An exciting career. You started with your design passion, you added engineering, you then got into the kind of fabricating and 3D, and then you added foresight to that. And you're now out there starting to make and create your future. If you could speak to the young Trish, and she could somehow get an idea of what's possible, what would you say to her?
Trish Mwenda: I would tell her that nothing is impossible. One part of my journey that I didn't really see myself being in is in education and teaching because, growing up, I was very shy and going in front of people was not something I would do. And even when I told people that I'm teaching, like when I went back home and I was telling my family and my cousins, and they were all surprised, You're you a teacher!? And yeah, I would just say that all any opportunity that you get any experience that you get just take it one step at a time, stride by stride. And it will lead you to things that you possibly didn't know that you had within yourself and you're able to really push the boundaries beyond what you think you're capable of. So that's the advice that I would give.
Peter Hayward: And always the thing is as a younger person, do we ever take advice?
Trish Mwenda: Not necessarily, no.
Peter Hayward: Trish it's been wonderful to meet you. Congratulations again for your work. I think the judging committee chose a worthy person. There will be show notes to go with your podcast. I would hope that your thesis can be made available on that, and other kinds of things as well cause your ideas around both, abuse and stress and anxiety, but also technology and wearables and culture I think still are relevant right now.
Trish Mwenda: Yes, absolutely.
Peter Hayward: thank you for taking some time out to talk to me and the FuturePod community.
Trish Mwenda: Yes. And thank you so much for having me.
Peter Hayward: I am hopeful for the future of our community with people like Trish joining it. Congratulations to everybody who played a part in her finding our community so exciting and welcoming. Futurepod is a not-for-profit venture. We exist through the generosity of our supporters. If you would like to support the Pod, please check out the Patreon link link on the website. I'm Peter Hayward. Thanks for joining us today.