CCA's Lisa Findley, professor and chair of the Bachelor of Architecture Program, has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker at the Practices, Processes & Politics of Indigenous Place-Making symposium in Melbourne, Australia, June 25–26, at the University of Melbourne.

The symposium kicks off a planned three-year process of conversation and negotiation between Melbourne’s indigenous and nonnative peoples, the ultimate goal of which is to collaborate on a compromise regarding shared and equal space for both cultures within the city.

Findley will focus on the complexities that arise when an indigenous population makes a place for itself within a colonizer’s culture. Besides commenting on issues endemic to Australia, she will discuss the strategies indigenous groups elsewhere in the world have used to tackle similar problems, including the degree of success others have achieved with various initiatives.

Findley says, “As someone who has studied and written about projects for indigenous people in many corners of the world, I have seen the range of difficulties such projects bring up. These difficulties include not only conflicts with the dominant culture, but also inter- and intra-tribal conflicts (historical and contemporary) and a wide range of physical issues related to siting, the nature and scale of building, the selection of an architect, the process by which the architect works, and myriad issues with building expression and technology.”

About the symposium
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