Paper short abstract:

This paper explores symbolic, direct, gender, and racial-based violence in design education at the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism in Buenos Aires. It delves into activist creative efforts using design as a tool against such violence and centering complaint as feminist practice.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing upon ethnographic material gathered during fieldwork at the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism (FADU) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this paper sheds light on the distinctive aspects of symbolic, direct, gender, and racial-based violence unfolding within design education. It also explores activist initiatives aimed at countering such violence amidst transnational debates on decolonizing and depatriarchalizing design and the rise of large-scale feminist movements in Argentina. By following student activists and educators engaged in exposing and resisting acts of violence, it analyzes the ways in which design exacerbates these aggressions. Additionally, it scrutinizes how design emerges as a tool of resistance, as evidenced by the ethnographic material.

Drawing on Sara Ahmed's scholarship (2021), I lend a "feminist ear" to listen to the grievances reverberating within the corridors of FADU, driven by feminist "complaint collectives" and individual concerns. Through this lens, the paper unravels the affective ties formed among participants in spaces of complaint. Furthermore, it examines how activists harness design as a tool to make their complaints visible and amplify their resistance.

Diverging from sole focus on complaints channeled through established institutional protocols, a trajectory Ahmed explored in “Complaint!” (2021), this paper will veer toward active listening to these complaints, trying to understand the nature of the violence and follow the creative practices that strive to confront, resist and counter it. The resulting narrative weaves together snippets, fragments, stories, and voices from both micro and macro levels, providing an ethnographic exploration of the intricate tapestry surrounding complaining as feminist practice.