African Designers Urged to Document Indigenous Knowledge, Promote Local Materials

By Atlantic Reports

African designers have been urged to document their creative processes, preserve traditional knowledge and promote indigenous materials to protect the continent’s cultural heritage and stimulate innovation.

Titi Ogufere, founder of Design Week Lagos, made the call during the pre-launch of Design Museum Africa (DMA) on Saturday, highlighting the need to address gaps in the documentation of African design and traditional craftsmanship.

The proposed museum is intended to document, preserve and showcase African design across multiple creative disciplines, including architecture, furniture, film and other forms of artistic expression.

Ogufere said inadequate documentation had contributed to the loss of traditional crafts and restricted the development of indigenous materials, production methods and technologies.

“When I moved back to Nigeria, it was very difficult finding information about things. The reason why we are not developing our raw materials is that there is no information,” she said.

Preserving Traditional Knowledge for Modern Innovation

Ogufere cited traditional innovations, including clay pots used to cool drinking water, as examples of indigenous knowledge that could inspire contemporary technological solutions if properly documented and studied.

She argued that Nigeria’s abundant natural resources offered opportunities for designers to develop innovative products capable of serving local needs and competing in international markets.

According to her, greater access to information about traditional materials and techniques could help designers build on existing knowledge rather than lose valuable practices through inadequate documentation.

The museum initiative is also working with established designers whose works have entered international museum collections, while seeking to create opportunities for emerging talents to showcase their creativity.

Such efforts could help bridge the gap between traditional knowledge, contemporary design practice and commercial innovation.

African Creativity Needs Greater Global Exposure

Multimedia artist Victor Ekpuk, whose works have been collected by museums in the United States and the Middle East, said African design had considerable creative depth but needed stronger international visibility.

“We are not lacking. We just need to tell the world what we have,” Ekpuk said, commending Design Week Lagos for promoting African creativity and encouraging young designers to explore their cultural heritage.

He identified exhibitions, formal education and parental involvement as important avenues for helping younger generations appreciate African culture and develop confidence in their identities.

Ekpuk also emphasised the preservation of indigenous languages, noting that cultural awareness could help young Africans understand their heritage and draw inspiration from it.

His remarks highlighted the relationship between cultural preservation and creative development, particularly as designers seek to interpret traditional influences through contemporary forms.

Design Education and Professional Development

Charles Job, a designer and architect who operates a furniture design studio in Zurich, Switzerland, described Design Museum Africa as an important foundation for increasing public, political and business awareness of design.

He said greater exposure could help young designers develop their abilities, attract professional opportunities and establish themselves in the industry.

Job urged emerging creatives to prioritise learning and technical competence before focusing primarily on financial rewards.

“For young designers, the first instinct should not be about making money. You have to learn the job, get good at what you do, and then eventually make money from it,” he said.

He maintained that mastering a craft could provide the foundation for sustainable careers, allowing designers to build reputations and create value through the quality of their work.

The message reinforces the importance of professional training, mentorship and access to platforms where emerging talents can learn from established practitioners.

Connecting African Design to Global Markets

The pre-launch featured selected works by established designers, including pieces presented for auction, highlighting the artistic and commercial potential of African design.

By bringing together creative works and preserving information about how they are produced, Design Museum Africa aims to strengthen recognition of the continent’s design traditions while encouraging new approaches to materials, techniques and technology.

The initiative also presents an opportunity to document the knowledge of craftspeople and designers whose expertise may otherwise remain inaccessible to researchers, students and future generations.

For Nigeria and the wider continent, the challenge is to ensure that indigenous materials and cultural knowledge become active resources for education, product development and economic opportunity, rather than remaining under-documented elements of the past.

Achieving this will require sustained documentation, investment in design education, support for local production and stronger connections between designers, institutions and markets.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.