SANDRA GITHINJI
Sandra Githinji Studio
SAY IT LOUD - Naarm Melbourne Exhibitor
MELBOURNE/AUSTRALIA Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
I am inspired by ancestral history and the conversations I have with my design peers that open me up to new discourse and ways of looking at the world.
SANDRA GITHINJI
Bio:
Sandra Githinji is a multidisciplinary designer and sessional lecturer at RMIT University. Her design practice explores how cultural and historical contexts construct spatial and temporal relations between people and their environment. Her work spans across sectors i.e. interior, product and furniture design, with themes deeply rooted in African postcolonial critical theory. She is currently exploring curatorial activism as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
My dad was a civil engineer and we had books around the house on timber construction as he was fascinated with timber homes. My mother had a furniture store and it was here that I feel in love with design and choose to pursue it as a career.
What do you do?
I am a multidisciplinary designer with an academic background in Interior Design.
What excites you in the work you do? Who or what inspires you professionally?
I am touched when people who experience/see my work tell me that they feel seen and reflected in the narrative.
Who or what inspires you professionally? What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
I am inspired by ancestral history and the conversations I have with my design peers that open me up to new discourse and ways of looking at the world.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
I have had many and I'm sure there will be many to come however the most recent and notable would be having raised $32,463 in a successful Kickstarter crowd funding campaign in 2021 for Bloom and awarded 2021 VIVID x Houzz People’s Choice Winner.
Featured Project Name:
Bloom
Featured Project Location:
N/A
Featured Project Completion Date:
2022
Role in Featured Project:
Designer
Featured Project Description:
Bloom is conceptualised as a collection of sculptural vases that celebrate phenomenal African female figures whose stories have been long forgotten. It physically symbolises the stories of these women who bloomed where they were planted, some through difficult situations, yet they rose and paved the way for many of us today, standing as symbols of the power in women.
