Cynthia Voza Lusilu (MA Design: Expanded Practice 2019) is one of the four young designers chosen by the Design Museum for their Designers in Residence programme to respond to this year’s theme of “Care”. The work she will be developing as part of the residency is a continuation of her MA project “Healing Chronicles”, which aimed to facilitate discussion around mental health support in Black British communities.
Cynthia was inspired to talk about mental health after her encounter with GARA (Goldsmiths Anti-Racist Action) during their occupation of Deptford Town Hall in 2019, when students gathered to share their experiences as people of color: “My own experiences resonated with them and I felt like it was a way to validate them. The type of space that they managed to create is valuable and important, it allows people to talk about what they are going through on a collective level. Unfortunately, a lot of spaces and institutions are not designed to take into account the wellness of Black people, and the collective traumas that Black communities can go through because of systemic racism have a direct impact on their wellbeing. This is a problem of public concern.” Continue reading “Cynthia Voza Lusilu explores community-based support for mental health”
