Choose from any of the provided designs. As you color, reflect on the ideas you've encountered throughout the symposium or enjoy a moment of calm.
Curated Playlists for Symposium: Music has the power to shape our mood, spark inspiration, and offer a sense of peace. Visit our listening station and explore curated playlists designed to help you reflect, center yourself, and process the insights of the symposium. Use the prompts below for reflection.
Journaling for Insight & Integration: The symposium is full of powerful ideas, but what resonates most with
you? Use this quiet journaling space to put your thoughts on paper, process your experiences, and set intentions.
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Title: Crafting Afrofuturist Charms
Description Charms play an important role in the spiritual, cultural, and aesthetic practices of the Diaspora, functioning as protective amulets, links to ancestral wisdom, and personal symbols of identity and power. In this activity, we carry this practice into the future by reimagining traditional Diasporic symbols.
Question(s) to Consider- If your charm was found in the future, what story would it tell about you?
Materials- Shrinky Dink Plastic
- Single Hole Punch
- Scissors
- Colored Pencils
- Markers
- Inspiration Photos (participants can look up on their phones or we can have some Diasporic symbols printed out for inspiration; for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkra_symbols)
- Heat Guns
- Beaded Chains
- Parchment Paper
- Sheet Pans
- Tweezers
- Heat-Resistant Gloves
- Book or heavy object
- Tape
Instructions- Find inspiration and/or create a design inspired by the Diaspora and Afrofuturism
- On the rough side of the shrinky dink plastic, use colored pencils and markers to draw and outline your design
- You can trace an image onto the plastic by placing a copy of the image beneath it
- Make your design large enough to account for shrinking once it is heated (design will shrink to about 1/3 its original size)
- Use scissors to cut out your design from the sheet of shrinky dink plastic
- Punch a hole in your design where you want the beaded chain to go (make sure it is large enough for the bead to go through after the shrink plastic heated)
- The facilitator will assist you with following the heat-gun instructions (attached) to shrink your design
- Allow your charm to cool down, then thread your beaded chain through the hole you created earlier
- Add your charm to your bag, keychain, or sneakers!
Wednesday February 12, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EST
Room 4502
Hunt Library
