Founding Collaborator

Livingstone Mukasa is an architect, artist, editor, and cultural strategist working at the intersections of Pan African architectural history, cultural anthropology, and the material heritage of African diasporic migrations. His career spans architectural practice, sustainable development consulting, tech startups, real estate development, and curatorial work, all grounded in a commitment to Africa centered design and intergenerational mentorship. He currently serve as Interim Director and Co-Founder of the Mĩcere Gĩthae Mũgo Foundation, a global nonprofit dedicated to advancing Africana knowledge systems, literary and oratory arts, and social justice. In this role, Livingstone leads strategy, governance, and cultural programming rooted in the legacy of the late Professor Mĩcere Gĩthae Mũgo, shaping institutional futures that are both ethically grounded and radically imaginative. A published writer and frequent lecturer, he co-authored and co-edited Theorising Architecture in Sub-Saharan Africa (DOM, 2021) and the seven volume Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa (DOM, 2021). His creative practice extends to visual art, with exhibitions including A Global Homage to Architecture and Design (Affinity Art Gallery, Lagos, 2021) and HERstory: The Women in Our Lives (Art Associates Gallery, Albany, NY, 2022). He is a 2021 grantee of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and a 2022 grantee of the Joseph and Anni Albers Foundation. Guided by the belief that design, culture, and knowledge stewardship are essential to equitable futures, Livingstone continues to champion sustainable and culturally responsive approaches to design, development, and social impact across the African world.

Curatorial Coordinator

Lise Isaro is an architect, curator, and educator whose work bridges design practice, cultural advocacy, and institutional collaboration. A Senior Corporate Member of the Rwanda Institute of Architects and council member of the East African Institute, she brings regional expertise and global perspective to the Pan-African Biennale. As Curatorial Coordinator, Lise plays a key role in shaping and managing the Biennale’s curatorial framework, overseeing project delivery, cross-departmental coordination, and the translation of curatorial ideas into operational reality. Her approach merges strategic precision with creative vision, ensuring that the Biennale’s programme reflects its Pan-African ethos of inclusion, innovation, and resilience. Beyond the Biennale, Lise is the founder and curator of African Female Architects, a digital platform amplifying the achievements of African women in design. She also leads Ilia Studio, an architectural firm dedicated to sustainable practice, and Fleur de Lys, an arts consultancy fostering dialogue between art and architecture. An International Associate Member and mentor with the American Institute of Architects, Lise contributes to the UIA’s “Architecture & Children” initiative and teaches with the Architecture is Free Foundation, advancing architectural education as a catalyst for social change.

 Director, Strategy and Delivery

Adwoa Osei is a Strategic Operator with over 15 years’ experience navigating complex operational challenges across the private, public, and consulting sectors. She first learnt the fundamentals of business operations by building and running a family business in the social care sector, before moving into Local Government as a Transformation Lead during the pandemic. In 2022, she joined a Big Four consultancy, where she partnered with senior leaders to solve operational challenges and drive transformation. Since then, Adwoa has advised founders, executives, and cross-functional teams on elevating strategy and execution - helping leadership stay focused on high-impact, mission-driven work. Her career has been defined by resilience and adaptability - pivoting across industries, steering through recessions, and navigating organisational change. Today, Adwoa is Head of the UK Mayors’ Network, leading a secretariat team that provides executive, strategic, and operational support to Mayors and Chief Executives across the network. As part of the Pan-African Biennale, Adwoa provides embedded strategic and operational advisory support. She advises on team structure, governance, delivery planning, and risk management, while enabling cross-functional collaboration across a multidisciplinary, international team to ensure the Biennale’s successful launch.

Executive Assistant

Anna is a project lead and fundraiser with experience in strategic design, institutional coordination, and community development. As Executive Assistant of the Pan-African Biennale , she supports the organizational, operational, and administrative backbone of the institution , ensuring that projects, partnerships, and collaborations align with its broader vision of continental unity and cultural equity. Her background spans the public and cultural sectors, where she has worked on initiatives advancing racial justice, systemic reform, and community empowerment. Anna’s approach is rooted in storytelling as a tool for social change and institutional accountability. She has contributed to projects such as Southern Voices and Refugee Tales, and previously served as Director of Freedom of Mind, where she developed inclusive mental health programmes and intersectional cultural events.

Project Coordinator

Fatoumata Diallo is an architect, designer, and writer whose work explores space as a medium for memory, resistance, and renewal. Her practice engages the intersections of architecture, storytelling, and decolonial thought, re-centering African and diasporic knowledge within the global design discourse. A graduate of Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Architecture and a minor in Museum and Gallery Practices, her thesis reimagined health infrastructure in Siguiri, Guinea through an Afro-Indigenous futurist lens envisioning architecture as both healing and narrative form. At the Pan-African Biennale, Fatoumata supports the broader curatorial framework with a focus on developing the Biennale’s Archive a living repository dedicated to documenting and sharing the continent’s architectural practices, research, and collective memory. Her work across monument conservation, curatorial research, and visual strategy reflects a sustained commitment to amplifying underrepresented histories and transforming them into spatial futures that are equitable, inclusive, and imaginative.

Project Coordinator

Yolanda Hamlett is a spatial practitioner and researcher whose work engages the intersections of vernacular architecture, indigenous knowledge, and regenerative design. A graduate of the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, her practice explores how traditional building techniques and material cultures can serve as living archives of ancestral intelligence, offering pathways toward sustainable and culturally rooted futures. Her approach is cross-disciplinary, bridging research, design, and making, and informed by a commitment to rethinking heritage as a dynamic process rather than a static past. At the Pan-African Biennale, Yolanda supports the broader development of the institution through research, coordination, and project assistance. Her work contributes to shaping the Biennale’s architectural initiatives and advancing its impact across the continent, with a focus on how design and heritage can inform sustainable and inclusive futures. Through her work, she advances critical dialogues around heritage, culture, and the built environment, positioning architecture as both a vessel of memory and a tool for transformation.

Research Associate

Abigail Rotich is a designer and researcher whose work examines the relationship between culture, environment, and spatial identity. A recipient of the prestigious Aydelott Travel Award, she conducted the first-ever research from Auburn University dedicated to African architecture a field study across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania investigating how tradition, climate, and community shape architectural form. Currently completing her Bachelor of Architecture and Interior Architecture with a minor in Environmental Design at Auburn University, Abigail brings an analytical and human-centered approach to design. Her interests lie in environmental design strategies, cultural representation, and the communicative power of space. Through her work with the Pan-African Biennale, Abigail continues to explore how research and design can foster cultural continuity, equity, and new ways of seeing Africa’s built environment.