Our Story

UBUNTU! Decolonial Arts Centre—founded by Dr. d’bi.young anitafrika—is a holistic gathering space towards the embodiment of Ubuntu, the African philosophy from which it takes its name. Ubuntu is a Zulu/Xhosa word meaning I am because you/we are. Home to the Anitafrika Method, a trauma-aware decoliberatory praxis cultivated by Dr. anitafrika, the centre aims to create a space where arts practitioners can engage with critical questions about the purpose of our work, as well as our individual and collective roles in society.

Art, in this context, serves as a powerful tool for liberation, healing, and challenging oppressive systems. Through the creative process of the method, practitioners explore identities, hxrstories, experiences, the humxn condition and in doing so, foster a deeper innerstanding of the interconnectedness of all living beings. By engaging in the Anitafrika Method, practitioners harness the transformative power of art to decolonise our personhood, practice, and pedagogy.

At the centre, the artistic journey is intrinsically linked to a broader mission: to rupture colonial matrices of power and promote a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. As practitioners gather from around the globe for our foundation courses online, our arts residencies in person, and our Ubuntu! Fest & Symposium—to engage with these questions and embody Ubuntu—we contribute to a growing movement that seeks to create spaces for healing, dialogue, and collective action.

The centre believes that art is not only an expression of individual creativity but also a powerful force for social change. By fostering a community of artists committed to exploring and embodying Ubuntu, the Decolonial Arts Centre catalyses transformation for all.

OUR PROJECTS

Ubuntu! Decolonial Arts Centre:

a) hosts year-round individual and cohort arts residencies in decoliberatory practice

b) convenes international foundation courses online

The Anitafrika Method is a decolonising framework for individual and communal transformation, and liberatory methodology for creative production, developed by Dr. d’bi.young anitafrika from the foundational dub theory of her mother Anita Stewart and from her lived experience as a Black queer theatre practitioner. It places the practitioner at the centre of learning and creative practice, using nine core principles—Self-Knowledge, Power, Orality, Language, Rhythm, Urgency, Sacredness, Integrity, and Experience—along with a compendium of corresponding inquiries including Bodies, Internal Systems, Movements, Provocations, Animals and Prompts, to support the practitioner’s development of critical consciousness and artistic expression. Grounded in Black transfeminist theory and Ubuntu philosophy, the method cultivates reflexive, socially aware practice amongst artists.