Unwasted: African aesthetics and the global translation of African narratives

Prof. Mugendi Kanampiu M’Rithaa, with Acayo Penina Laker, Eunice Nanzala Schumacher, Henry Mainsah (My African Aesthetic)

This entry brings together an introduction, a recorded conversation and a documentary film that expand on the themes of Unwasted. The podcast features a discussion with Prof. Mugendi Kanampiu M’Rithaa, developed and recorded by My African Aesthetic, and reflects on African aesthetics, material culture, sustainability and narrative sovereignty. The conversation is followed by a documentary produced by Kipenz Films for Holos Creative Solutions, which examines the global synthetic hair industry and its environmental impact, situating post-consumer waste, beauty economies and local livelihoods within wider systems of consumption and inequality.

Introduction

Professor Mugendi Kanampiu M’Rithaa is a pioneering transdisciplinary designer, educator, and President Emeritus of the World Design Organization. He is a thinker whose work spans continents, cultures, and causes, a passionate advocate for design as a transformative force on the African continent and a believer in the idea of “Afrika with a K” – a linguistic and philosophical shift toward self-definition and narrative ownership.

In this interview, anchored in the project Unwasted by Holos Creative Solutions Afrika LTD, Mugendi helps us unpack the effects of consumerism, post-consumer waste and colonial legacies on African beauty standards and forms of artistic expression. Unwasted reimagines discarded synthetic hair as a material of value but also sparks deeper reflections on African aesthetics, material culture, and self-definition. We reflect on how African women navigate inherited colonial beauty norms, the environmental burden of synthetic hair, and the loss of indigenous African art, design and architecture knowledge systems.

Professor M’Rithaa calls for a reclamation of traditional African hair practices – ethically, aesthetically, and sustainably – illustrating how local and indigenous cultural practices interact with global consumer-driven beauty ideals. He takes us on a journey through African aesthetic traditions – from the symbolic meanings of hair and adornment, to the deep knowledge systems embedded in crafts, patterns and materials. Our dialogue moves beyond African hair aesthetics examining broader questions of community-based craft, circular economies, and how African artists, architects and creatives are shaping a vibrant, self-defined aesthetic.

Professor M’Rithaa invites us to rethink our materials, our methods, and our mindsets – in service of a more sustainable, culturally grounded, and creatively liberated future for African aesthetic and design philosophy.