Designing a Place-Based Inquiry
Africa 2027 did not begin as a fully formed year-long project. It has taken shape through questions, route changes, practical decisions, false starts, and discoveries about what this inquiry might require.
This notebook documents that process as it unfolds—from defining the questions and choosing the places to confronting my assumptions about travel, observation, belonging, and the work itself.
The entries are drawn from my handwritten journal, Designing a Place-Based Inquiry, and preserve the uncertainty of building the project while I am still inside it.
This work is supported by readers who believe careful observation still matters. If you'd like to help sustain the writing and fieldwork behind it, Support the Africa Project.
Getting started
A few weeks ago I shared that I am designing a 90-day residency in West Africa and the process itself is worth documenting for anyone considering a place-based inquiry of their own. This is not a trip.