Bakani
[bah-KAH-nee] Verb
Bakani means to build. It is a word from the Kalanga language of Zimbabwe in Southern Africa.
Bakani Foundation builds with stories and constructs spaces of memory, dialogue, and imagination.
Our Mission
Bakani is a non-profit cultural institution that harnesses the power of storytelling to [re]imagine Africa and the Diaspora.
Through the pillars of heritage, the arts, dialogue, and sustainability, we create spaces, archives, and cultural platforms where communities preserve memory, celebrate creativity, and co-create inclusive and sustainable futures.
Our Pillars
Heritage
We safeguard and celebrate the stories, traditions, and cultural memory that shape who we are.
Dialogue
We create participatory spaces where communities share stories and co-create visions and narratives together
The Arts
We explore our stories as told through various forms of creative expression.
Sustainability
We create spaces for collective imagination to ensure that cultural, economic, and creative ecosystems thrive for future generations.
“Bakani was born as an act of remembering while building the future. It came from a desire to place memory, culture, the arts, dialogue, and sustainability at the center of how we imagine the future. It is a space for connection, reflection, and reclaiming the power of African and Diasporic lineage.”
— Lynette Sifiso | Founder and Creative Director, Bakani Foundation & The African Museum of Collective Wisdom