S8E4: Ari Melenciano

Ari Melenciano is an artist, creative technologist, educator and the founder of Afrotectopia, a social institution fostering interdisciplinary innovation.

The idea for Afrotectopia came when Melenciano — who grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which has an African American majority — was studying at NYU’s Interactive Technology Program. When she shared pictures of her projects on social media,

my friends from back home would be interested in the things I’m creating. But when I would talk with them, I could tell that this is not something that they imagine themselves doing. And so I wanted to make sure that anyone who looked like me could imagine themselves doing that.

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