Immanuel Oni is a Nigerian-American artist whose work focuses on ways to memorialize spaces in collaboration with the community. From his work on our Opening the Edge project with Lower East Side public housing residents to now leading community engagement in the Bronx with his practice, Liminal sp, informing a new memorial for the Enslaved African Burial Ground, Oni shares his story about how he came to be an artist, his approach as a “Space Doula,” and his role in memorializing the past through public space.

How long have you been an artist and how did you come across Design Trust?

I would say I’ve been an artist since childhood. I still remember being asked to always draw the yearly t-shirt designs in high school. I feel like drawing and creating kind of helped me get through a lot of things growing up. 

In terms of Design Trust and how I got more into community and design engagement, after graduation from architecture school I already knew I wouldn’t be working in a typical architectural firm. Even for the first year that I tried that, it was just not the best place for me. I feel that is the case for a lot of artists and creative people. 

I was working in an architecture office when I saw an open fellowship, the Opening the Edge Active Design fellowship back in 2017. The fellowship asked for community engagement design working with residents in public housing. Even though that was my third or fourth year in New York, I really didn't have any experience working in these types of spaces. However, in Houston, I worked for The Museum of Cultural Arts, which is now unfortunately closed. I think working at that museum was really my first exposure to community-based art practices, a lot of the work involved creating public murals and public art.

I was fortunate to join the fellowship team for those first years of the project. At first, it was a lot of engagement outreach; doing community workshops, and then as time went on it was about strategic partnerships and thinking about how to continue engagement through the end of the project. 

How has your experience with Opening the Edge informed or prepared you for your current role as a community engagement project partner on Reimagining the Enslaved African Burial Ground at Van Cortlandt Park?

In Opening the Edge, there were a lot of moments where we had to get approval, or getting a certain amount of funding, or securing a funder. In some instances we had slight resistance from certain residents. I worked as part of the community design team and shared with them why the space would be important to have and it being kind of a first step to making more public spaces in their NYCHA complex. 

The overall experience launched my career, in terms of working in public housing. From then on, I had an expertise about different entities and people, whether its management, the grounds keeping, resident association, and overall understanding of the social fabric of each group. 

I think the difference as a fellow was that there was already a decision on what was going to happen which was removing the fence and designing this outdoor space. As a partner with Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and Design Trust, I'm co-leading instead of being one part of a project. I have an equal level of decision making on how we go about engagement and Design Trust really let me lead the reins because of my past burial ground work. To me, Design Trust felt that I bring a lot of expertise in this area of memorial. 

You have described yourself as a “Space Doula” what does that mean and how has it driven your work?

People tend to use the term artist, not that I'm averse to that title, but I think sometimes it doesn't do people justice in terms of what the creative is or actually does. Given the nature of a lot of my past work, and ongoing work, it's related to loss and actually shifting a little bit more towards legacy. 

Initially I started with the idea of loss and back in 2019, I was introduced to a grief recovery counselor. He kind of exposed a bit more of that world to me when it came to care after death or after a loss of life. I noticed that each role like death doula and birth doula itself has a goal that is, helping transition energy or an entity from one space to another. 

I thought perhaps this label could be used for spaces. I felt like it's a bit more than a traditional artist. When people think of artists they would think of a painter or a printmaker. In my mind, I think of myself more as a spacer.

What does the phrase “reclaiming space” mean to you?

When I think of reclaiming, I think of people being able to walk their spaces and transcend their fears and worries, and hopefully have some sense of agency in the space. I think that to me is what reclaiming spaces means. This space can belong to me or collectively belong to us as a community. Claiming that sense of agency through these physical spaces is how we can take back community spaces. 

What is your artist process in a space from idea conception to idea implementation?

You know, it's funny, I created this, a couple of years ago when I started to see a pattern. So the first part of the process is remembrance. It usually happens through some kind of activity like space bingo. Getting seniors or young people to see positive things in the neighborhood and positive memories. 

The next step is re-imagination. One of the quotes that I use is “one of the ways that we feel is by being able to see beyond the situation.” Being able to map all these spaces and identify one of those spaces that we want to re-imagine to address the stigma. 

Then the third part I actually go between resistance and the word reclaim or reclaiming as a form of resistance. Walking together in a space as a community was a form of resistance and being able to see people feel like they have some ownership or stake in space. As a community we were able to re-envision and have moment of community dialogue and sharing.

What can we look forward to from you next as you continue your work with Design Trust?

With the Van Cortlandt Park Enslaved African Burial Ground, we'll be continuing to review submissions to the Design Ideas Competition, and exhibit the work next year.

In the long-term, I am thinking about how to create a framework where if there is a burial ground or a space of memory that pops up, how do we address it? How do we approach it? Can there be a streamlined process of memorializing or acknowledging the history? 

On my own, I'm currently working in New Jersey to develop a monument installation on migration and labor. More information about that should be coming next March. This year, I was a resident artist at the Youth Detention Center partnered with the New York City Office of Cultural Affairs highlighting youth and staff stories, narratives, and experiences in the carceral system. I'll be doing some kind of installation inside working with young people there so I am really excited to bring my talents there as well.