African Interlace as Dynamic Grids: New Heritage Algorithms for Diaspora Design Ecologies

African interlaces are continuous “over-under” paths that can be found in designs throughout the African continent. They include lusona drawings, Orisha beadwork, and related designs from hair braiding, textiles, and other media. But there has been little research examining the common cultural themes expressed, or the common elements of their shape constructions. We begin with an ethnocomputing methodology to show how their visualization of “circulating vital energy” is expressed by their formal properties as “dynamic grids.” In the second part of the paper, we examine their relationship to diverse Black interlace designs in the Americas: cornrow hairstyling, Haitian vèvè, Brazilian capoeira, and other forms show dynamic grids as “heritage algorithms.” The final part of the paper looks at how contemporary Black designers have utilized these cultural and formal properties as heritage algorithms, highlighting their contribution to liberatory practices in what we are calling “diaspora design ecologies.”