Dana Salama

Dana is an architectural designer, curator, and researcher who is interested in how public memory and power shape the built world. Her research works to develop critical methodologies towards the interpretation, disclosure, and use of heritage sites, particularly in North and West Africa. 

Dana’s architectural practice spans research, design, and project management, with a focus on socially sustainable ecotourism, co-design, and the conservation of Modern heritage. From 2019-2023, she served as an associate at Aziza Chaouni Projects, where she led curatorial initiatives and managed international projects in Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, “Canada,” and beyond. Her clients have included World Monuments Fund, The Getty Conservation Institute, as well as various public and private entities. She received two LafargeHolcim Sustainability Awards for her design and research work in this capacity. In addition, Dana’s film work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Sharjah Architecture Triennale.

Dana directs *countermap, a non-profit arts organization in “Canada,” that examines relationships between heritage and power by building digital and IRL applications for critical cartography, as well as through community collaborations, research, and commissions.

In 2019, Dana graduated with honours from The University of British Columbia, and has since taught design and research courses at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design and OCADU’s Faculty of Design. She serves as a guest critic and lecturer at these institutions and elsewhere. Dana is a co-founder and board member at sheeep.school, a space for experimental knowledge exchanges in spatial practice. Sometimes she updates her website @ danasalama.info