Giles Nartey translates African rituals into bold design objects

‘African craft cultures are a catalyst for re-imagining the spaces we live in’ says Giles Nartey. Through his work the British-Ghanian architect seeks to celebrate Black identity, traditions, and culture. Moving between art, film, and architecture his research-based practice aims to translate African rituals into bold design objects. 

Giles Nartey: academia meets design

Born in South London, Nartey spent almost a decade of his early life in Accra, Ghana. ‘Growing up in Labadi I was inspired by the informal architecture, behaviours and practices that animated structures,’ says the designer. Seeing practices such as people washing their hands in a bowl before a meal or the grinding of peppers in an Asanka (wooden grinder), continue to influence the work of the London-based designer today.

Having studied at Politecnico di Milano and the Bartlett School of Architecture, academia has always played a vital role in Nartey’s life. At present, he lectures at the University College London and co-runs a diploma unit at the AA with architect, writer, and educator Nana Biamah-Ofosu. ‘My aim is to always teach, research and practice as a designer. This combination provides me with the tools to push boundaries in my work.’

Currently, undertaking a PhD at the Bartlett School of Architecture, academia also serves as a testing ground for the British-Ghanian lecturer. 'Interplay' is a direct output of much of his doctorate research into African ontologies. First exhibited at POoR’s Powershift exhibition at the London Design Festival in 2023, this striking piece of seating rethinks furniture as a shared skin, with engraved and overlapped narratives occupying its marked surface. ‘The piece takes reference from traditional West African Senufo carved bed-bench which are traditional carved out of a single piece of timber’ explains Nartey.

Embedding the Ghanaian game ‘Oware,’ Interplay is a communal bench which allows for performative interaction. ‘Historically African objects have been miscategorised as inanimate artefacts, but most were part of rituals and practices from the spiritual to the domestic either in the making or the use.’

‘To date, exhibiting Interplay in the Victoria and Albert Museum for the Friday Late: Radical Imaginaries is one of my greatest career moments. The V&A is a place my mother would take me and my sisters when we were younger, so it meant a lot to exhibit a piece of work so tied to our heritage and shared family memories there.’

Continuing the same body of thought as Interplay, Nartey’s latest work is a sleek six-legged aluminium stool titled ‘Serwaa.’ A contemporary manifestation of the West African Lobi chair, this sculptural piece speaks to spirituality across present-day Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana. This stylish seat will be followed by a clever series of architectural interventions in Accra which reimagine food kiosks, the market, and the way in which produce is sold on the street.

Rooted in traditional West African culture, the work of Nartey is helping to shift the global design canon. Using academia as a launchpad, he is creating forward-thinking objects that speak to traditional Ghanian rituals. ‘My aim is to imagine African design not as a relic or artefact but as contemporary language steeped in the practices that fostered its creation.'

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