After Oceanic is the adaptive social practice of Hawai‘i artist Sean Connelly, who organizes collaborative decolonial projects in sculpture, architecture, film, and cartography that support Native liberation in Hawai‘i and beyond.

Through the artist's work, After Oceanic engages a larger creative, familial, and grassroots network of collaborative care involving cultural bearers, creative practitioners, experts, and scholars. Together, they explore the future of design and planning for Hawai‘i’s built environments, with a focus on empowering ecology, Native intellect, and wellbeing.

Operating as a Built Environments Lab for Applied Theory & Culture in Design, After Oceanic leverages art, architecture, and strategic cartography to research, organize, and exchange spatial knowledge with diverse stakeholders. By looking to the past, innovating in the present, and reflecting on shared results, we aim to improve future wellbeing.


Regenerating Native Built Environments for  Wellbeing
We perceive the built environment as a living, physical entity that reflects its place and inhabitants, both human and nonhuman. This perspective requires holographic and common-sense understandings of the biocultural landscapes of land, ocean, and sky, along with their peoples, creatures, ancestors, and spirits. Believing that ‘Āina (that which feeds) requires continual regeneration, we advocate for organizations to recognize and invest in the physical future of Native built environments in Hawai‘i. These environments serve as essential protective factors that enhance the overall wellbeing of Hawaiian communities for generations to come.


Pathways of Collaborative Care
We believe that collaboration and creativity are essential to building futures rooted in care for ‘Āina, culture, and community. Our work emerges from collective efforts to uplift Native knowledge, innovation, and wellbeing. Together, we offer pathways of support across the following areas to empower ecological, cultural, and spatial transformations:


Areas of Practice & Collaboration
Architectural Design & ‘Āina Futurism: Envisioning architecture that honors Native Hawaiian values and embraces the future of built environments.

Land Use Analysis & Design: Creating sustainable land use strategies informed by cultural and ecological needs.

Data Analysis & Representation: Translating complex information into meaningful visuals that serve communities and support decision-making.

GIS Science: Mapping and analyzing spatial data to inform land stewardship, conservation, and planning.

Site Forensics & 3D Modeling: Investigating the physical past and future of spaces through advanced modeling, ensuring responsible design.

Regional Planning & Historic Representation: Developing plans that honor both history and place to support community wellbeing.

Fabrication Support: Offering expertise in the creation and construction of designs and models that bring ideas to life.

Curriculum Design & Development: Crafting educational programs that integrate Native ecological and cultural knowledge with design.

Organizational Development & Strategy: Assisting in the growth and strategy of organizations aligned with decolonial and community-centered missions.

Theory, Innovation, & Activism: Advancing theoretical approaches and supporting movements that contribute to Native liberation and ecological balance.

History
Founded in Honolulu in 2010 by artist and building practitioner Sean Connelly (b. O‘ahu, Hawai‘i), After Oceanic was established as an artistic social practice. Functioning as a lab for applied culture and theory in design, After Oceanic furthers the artist’s mission to advance the use of creativity, design, and radical geospatial intelligence to support those who recover, promote, and protect ‘Āina, along with its Native bioculture and elemental geographies, resurging across Pae ‘Āina Hawai‘i (the Hawaiian Islands) and beyond.

Under Sean’s leadership, After Oceanic collaborates with others to generate and promote artist-driven spatial knowledge about the design and recovery of built environments. We adapt to serve place-based approaches to data, design, and planning, ensuring our work responds to the specific needs of each place.