Tameka Baba is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Landscape Architecture at Ohio State University's Knowlton School. Her work focuses on the reclamation and transformation of underutilized or abandoned urban spaces. She is passionate about creating places of commoning for underserved communities and rethinking the traditional concept of community gardens as public space. By incorporating traditional textile crafts such as weaving and sewing into her design process, she bridges the gap between art, public engagement, and ecological design. This approach underscores her commitment to innovative, community-driven landscape interventions prioritizing ongoing stewardship of community care.
Tameka’s commitment to research and design has earned her numerous accolades, with her work featured in national and international exhibitions, conferences, panels, and publications. Over the past year—alongside receiving the Rome Prize Fellowship—her installation Site Unscreened was presented at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. In previous years, she was also awarded two inaugural fellowships: the Jane Blaffer Owen Foundation Creative in Residence Fellowship and the Knowlton Midwest Landscape Lab Faculty Fellowship.
How has your time in Rome shaped or shifted the direction of your project so far?
Rome itself is a living memorial—built of materials, objects, places, and people. The pace of interaction here moves differently than what I'm accustomed to in the United States, slower and more intentional. The passeggiata, the concept of leisurely walking for pleasure, has reshaped the way I think and work—an influence that might seem unexpected for a landscape designer. Yet Rome, despite its narrow sidewalks, is endlessly walkable, and there is always something new waiting just around the corner. In the same way, my weaving project has become a means of responding to this place—creating speculative site plans that embrace surprise, discovery, and the unexpected.
What part of your daily routine or environment at the Academy has most influenced you and your work?
I would have to say that having a dedicated studio space has been the most influential part of my time at the Academy. I can work as late as I want, wake up and begin as early as I choose, and my materials are always waiting for me. It has become my own little world—threads, yarns, looms, drawings, and books all within reach—ready to support whatever idea or curiosity I want to explore in the moment.
Have any encounters—with people, places, new information—opened up new paths in your research or practice in the past months?
Several advisors in the arts have encouraged me to continue building a body of woven works and to push further into this trajectory of material exploration. I remain deeply interested in how weaving intersects with design and landscape architecture—how this medium can speak to place, structure, and spatial experience. I’m only beginning to unravel what that connection truly means, but for now, I’m grateful to have the time and space to grow my skills as a weaver and to let the work guide me forward.