Since independence, African countries throughout the continent continue to be confronted by the relics of colonial powers and white minority regimes. Although frequently neglected or damaged, these remains and environments are reminders of the lingering spectre of colonial history and architecture’s largely hidden yet pervasive racist presence. They recall the everyday bureaucracy of colonialism and apartheid – and evoke how this history of subjugation and planning continues, in part, to shape life in postcolonial societies through global capitalism.

By building and expanding a network of concerned and engaged practitioners around the topic, the conference “In whose place? Confronting vestiges of the colonial landscape in Africa” seeks to create and foster dialogue and collaboration between the academic and associated artistic, cultural and architectural projects. The historic infrastructures of everyday oppression and ecological devastation by colonialism and apartheid will be addressed through interrelated, imagined and practical themes and panels.

The online conference, organised by the School of Architecture and Planning and the History Workshop of Wits - University of the Witwatersrand, will take place on Thursday 20 May and Friday 21 May. For more information and registration, visit: www.inwhoseplace.com.

Conference supported by EU National Institutes for Culture, Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa, Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria, Goethe-Institut Johannesburg, French Institute of South Africa - IFAS Culture, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg - Swiss Arts Council and Flanders Southern Africa.