What does decolonisation even mean?

A Zoom PodCast…well, it’s an attempt.

What does it even mean to decolonise? I came across this term in my second year of my BA in Anthropology. Since then, the term decolonised has been mentioned so much in my radius, I think it’s safe to safe that it has transformed into a buzzword, but what does it actually mean?

One thinker I’ve gravitated to for a definition is Franz Fanon (1963), where he states that decolonisation is a historical process seeking to change ‘the order of the world’ (1963: 36) yet this world we operate within a program of disorder, this disorder caused due to colonialism and its empire…it’s imperial residue. 

I’ve invited two artists to discuss what decolonisation could mean. My first artist is Cameron Aitchenson-Labarr, currently working with 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the only and first international art fair that dedicates itself to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. My second artist is Jessica who works for the Brixton Project, a cultural and creative placemaking organisation in Brixton. The Brixton Project delivers and commissions creatives as well as facilitating cultural and creative programming which engages with a plethora of communities and those excluded from the arts. Championing Brixton’s diverse history and work in order to imagine a collective future.