THE PAN
AFRICAN
RESEARCH
RESIDENCY

The Pan-African Research Residency (PARR) is a fashion-led, cross-cultural knowledge exchange programme conceptualised to support creative, transdisciplinary research and projects between South Africa and its neighbouring African countries. Founded by AFRI co-founder Lesiba Mabitsela, Ugandan artists Sheila Nakitende and Liz Kobusinge, the inaugural residency took place in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2023, followed by Kampala, Uganda, in 2024.

Through collaboration with guest artists and artisans—such as Durban-based fashion designer Thabiso Ncanana, artisans and historians Khethiwe Memela and Phumzile Nkosi (Phansi Museum), Ugandan fashion designers Katende Godfrey and Isabela Asiimwe, and researchers/artisans Doreen Namatovu and Bosco Ssemiyingo—this exchange between Uganda and South Africa emerged at the intersection of indigenous knowledges. It bridged the production of omlubugo (barkcloth), a traditional cloth of the Baganda, with local leather-pleating practices seen in the isidwaba worn by married Zulu women. Drawing on afro-sustainable practices, the creative research focus of the residency explored ways of making as methods for decolonizing design and creating new patterns of knowledge that acknowledge Afrocentric fashion histories.