Unlearning Leadership
Unlearning Leadership is a project by artist and psychologist Dr Dzifa Afonu, as they explore how models of leadership could be reconceptualised from a decolonial perspective. Dzifa examines the colonial and patriarchal views of what it means to be a good leader in social change work, taking a deeply embodied and personal journey in dialogue with leaders in the UK and South Africa.
This project reflects on topics of leadership through various media, including a series of personal letters written by Dzifa to their daughter. The letters dream into a world where their daughter will more easily navigate a wholehearted and joy-filled experience of leadership. The complexities of leadership are explored through a short film, featuring a dialogue with Wasi Daniju (Artist – Photographer – Counsellor – UK).
Unlearning Leadership seeks to inspire dialogues among many of the unsung leaders. The people who due to experiences of marginalisation or for other reasons have discomfort with really seeing themselves as leaders. This work asks how we can envision new possibilities and alternatives to our relationship to leadership in social change and justice work.
