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@maya_raji

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podcasting @thenativenigerian
yapping about yams @muchadoaboutyam

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Join us for Tomorrow for Black Ecologies Pt. 2: Land, Memory, and the More-than-Human at LMCC’s The Arts Center at Governors Island.

Spend the day with Black Interactive through hands-on workshops, conversation, and creative practice exploring our relationships to land, memory, ecology, and transformation.

Saturday, October 17th
The Arts Center at Governors Island

RSVP: https://luma.com/o8mdgnsy ( Link also in the Bio )

#BlackInteractive #BlackEcologies #GovernorsIsland #BlackArtists #lmcc

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Far fewer people have seen the living pottery traditions that still exist across compounds in cities like Kano and Ilorin.

These pottery compounds are not just sites of craft, they are living systems of knowledge shaped by generations - an indentation in the earth, a bowl of water, a pot slowly emerging from clay. This is design intelligence practiced through the body.

In the Dawakin Tofa and Dada compounds, much of the pottery economy is sustained by women working quietly within their own yards, their labour often unseen. Every kiln placement, drying shed, and clay storage area reflects generations of observing how materials behave, turning these compounds into archives of spatial knowledge.

Read the full piece on www.roundaboutcommunity.com via the link in bio!

Clay Matriarchs and their Compund Logics was written by Sumayyah Sunmade Raji @maya_raji

Video Credit: @maya_raji
In the video, we watch Alhaja Railat Asaka in Ilorin work with the assured ease of a matriarch who owns both her craft and its telling.

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This all started with a craving for one of my favorite things to eat: fried yam. I had seen a video posted by @9jafoodie about how expensive yams have become in Canada, and how most of the yams she saw at the grocery store were rotting. It made me feel a little sad because yam is something I can’t easily buy at my local grocery store. While I saw other varieties, I couldn’t find the specific type I grew up eating in Nigeria.
Then, I remembered the time I lived in Boston and my aunt in LA asked me to mail her yams that I bought during my bimonthly tropical market runs. It might seem crazy, but it was more convenient for me to ship them to her than for her to try to buy them locally. It is a simple yet poignant example of how far we are willing to go to maintain a connection to home.
In my prolonged period of intense nostalgia, I became curious about the history of the yam. I discovered so much about its significance in many Black traditions and the humongous yam barn structures in Eastern Nigeria. Since then, I’ve looked at the tuber very differently. As I continue to eat yams whenever I come across them, I find myself digging further—tracing their uses and exploring their potential offerings for architecture.

#yam #africanfood #blackfood #blackdiaspora #muchadoaboutyam

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Yesterday we celebrated Valentine’s Day by inviting families to join us for an afternoon of creativity, storytelling, and connection 💐✨
From building Lego bouquets to sharing laughs and community, the room was full of love.
Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us. Photo Credit: @hey.janae
#blackhistorymonth #valentinesday #nyu #blackinteractive

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🌴🌴🌴
Shot this at a house party. Getting through some editing backlogs cuz we’re what? Changing in 2026

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⭐2025 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 ⭐

Jointly administered by the League and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA, @nyscouncilonthearts), Independent Projects supports self-generated work in design that seeks to answer the question: 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙜𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩?

Today, we’re introducing another five projects that received the 2025 Independent Projects grants of $10,000 each.

The Valid Imaginary
Chloe Munkenbeck
@chloe_munkenbeck
New York, NY

Climate Stories
Swati Piparsania
@piparsaniaaaa
New York, NY

Much Ado About Yam
Sumayyah Raji
@Maya_raji and @muchadoaboutyam
New York, NY

Hyper Local Robotic Entanglements
Dierdre Shea, Julian Goldman, Claire Moriarty, and Riley Studebaker
Troy, NY

Constructing the Other: A Meditation on Diaspora, Reparations, and Fractured Belonging
Kriti Shivagunde and Niriksha Shetty
@nirikshashetty and @i_am_fevi_colled
New York, NY and Statewide

Stay tuned to learn more about the 2025 Independent Projects recipients. Information about the next Independent Projects cycle will be announced in 2026.

📸
1) Collage depicting Argan, The Imaginary Invalid, being diagnosed by a team of architects. Image Credit: Chloe Munkenbeck; Source images from United Nations Archives, Le Corbusier, the Board of Design, and Wellcome Collection
2) Climate Stories mobile educational cart with toys including: wildfire, tornado, material cube, impact wheel, rain chain, compost, flow maze, and wind gush. Image credit: Yiyuan Li and Junming Pu
3) Image credit: Sumayyah Súnmádé Raji
4) Construction-scale 3D printed clay mix based on traditional earth building materials: locally mined clay, sand aggregate, and fiber reinforcement processed from Phragmites and Japanese Knotweed. Image credit: Riley Studebaker
5) Mundane commodities as tenets of Hinduism and belonging in the diaspora. Ganesh Temple Canteen, Flushing, Queens. Image Credit: Kriti Shivagunde and Niriksha Shetty

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So I guess I ❤️ NY or whatever 🙄
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#nyfw #nyfashion #nyfashionweek #nyc #ny #fashion #travel #style #réel #insta #blacktravelfeed #reel #ootd

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Still not over the looks at @janewade_
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#nyfw #nyfashion #nyfashionweek #janewade #nyc #ny #fashion #travel #style #réel #insta

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Spent an incredible 10 days in New York. Had such an amazing time that I’m not even sure what my beef was with the city to begin with. In just a few short days, I had experiences that stretched me creatively, pushed me to the point of frustration (that damn subway), and motivated me. Chaotic, unpredictable, and beautiful all at once. Can’t wait to go back! 🗽❤️
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#travel #newyorkcity #nyc #newyork #blacktravel #blacktravelfeed #unclewaffles #theblackgirltravels #party #nyfw #fashionweek #concert #dance

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I’m just a sweet happy girl when the sun’s out🧚🏾‍♀️✨.

I miss my shaylaa…my soul twin🥹❤️

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Congrats to my favorite Bangali couple who radiate the deepest love, silliness, resilience, and power together. It’s been so bittersweet and such an honor to watch your love blossom into a forever saga. Y’all are GOALS. Love you both!

🤩💍❤️‍🔥🇧🇩

#N🤍R #marrymern

@noshineee @lanadelreza

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colors of the wind #PalmSprings #edition #vibesthrumyeyes #july

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