(de)cypher+ is a black studies note-book, (un)safe thought-space, and creative incubator devoted to the confrontational practice and study of black cultural production, broadly construed. Founded in 2022, this project emerged in response to a perceived lack of critical engagement with both the dynamism and pitfalls of black aesthetic inventiveness, particularly against the global backdrop of rising political, social, and spiritual turmoil. Our approach to black aesthetics is indebted to Jamaican critic, writer, and playwright, Sylvia Wynter, who demanded black studies practitioners think long and hard about what art does in the world.

(de)cypher+ publishes, interviews, and offers creative consulting services to artists and cultural organizations—broadly construed—looking to push their practice towards the unimaginable. Deploying our ante-anti-genre ‘dark decipherment’ practice, we collaborate with artists and practitioners to care-fully deconstruct the philosophical orientation, ethical intention, and desired messaging underpinning their respective project(s). With open hearts and minds, our exploration together will unsettle the very ground of their thought to rebuild the practitioners’ mode of creative thinking, itself.