strange bungalow

"young money" by myla dalbesio

2011-12-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

you know who, recently put me on to Myla DalBesio, who according to her website is: an American multi-disciplinary visual artist, specializing in photography, performance, video, and sculpture. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1987 [dang, what am i doing w/my life???], she studied Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently based in New York City. Her work is greatly influenced by religion and ritualistic practices, the mystic patterns of the natural world, and the underlying sexual perversions within all humans.

super interesting stuff.

In the hyperallergic interview about her piece "young money", and her work in general she says: "I have been signed to Ford as a model for years, and after spending so much time on that side of the fashion industry, one kind of starts to view the body as a commodity. Personality and talent certainly play a role in the successes of a model, but when it comes down to brass tacks, it’s only your appearance and what you can do with your body that matters. In theory, it’s not unlike the position of a stripper. In both situations you are selling an image, an idea of yourself, and that’s how you have to work it, regardless of your true, internal identity. That’s where the first ideas for the performance originated."

"I own my body, it is mine and I refuse to allow people to dictate what I can and cannot do with it. I have the courage and conviction to use it as a tool in provoking a greater thought process in the minds of individuals, and there is nothing anti-feminist about that sentiment at all. It would be naive to ignore the fact that some attendees didn’t pick up on the deeper meaning. Were there viewers who only cared to stare at my breasts and who left thinking of it as nothing but a good time? Certainly. And yes, that does make me feel taken advantage of. But it was my choice to put myself in that situation, no one forced me into it. I am willing to give of myself for the growth of others, and that is sacrifice, not exploitation."

sooo...idk about this piece in particular, having not been there to experience the performance i reserve comment on the photos. to me if its performance, its hard to 'evaluate' it based on a flat image. what i do really appreciate is what she has to say about her work. that is what resonates with me. besides the fact that professionally, i am everyday immersed in thinking through the healthy construction, preservation and expression of sexual self, artistically i'm interested in exploring some of this in my work but less as such a dramatic spectacle in a gallery but uncovering all of the ways that we [insert (not just sexually) marginalized group here] experience the spectacle of exploitation on a regular/every-day basis in regular places (work, school, street) 'under' the radar of majority culture and the secret society-ness of those who not only experience, recognize and critique, subvert, re-purpose/power these identities as such. unfortunately i don't think the body/appearance as a commodity and what you can do with your body being the only thing that matters is unique to strippers and models. its something i'm painfully aware of as i move through the world at all times.

afro-surreal:::i mentally dabble in this but its intricately woven through my ethos

2011-11-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

check it. took the words outta my mouth (or brain. or heart). if only i had time and opportunity to play in this sandbox. one day. its coming. on pause for now but ooooooh hearts...

YESSSSS to all this:

(image from the tumblr, source??)

"2. Afro-Surreal presupposes that beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is our job to uncover it.

“3. Afro-Surrealists restore the cult of the past. We revisit old ways with new eyes. We appropriate 19th century slavery symbols like Kara Walker, and 18th century colonial ones like Yinka Shonibare. We re-introduce “madness” as visitations from the gods, and acknowledge the possibility of magic. We take up the obsessions of the ancients and kindle the dis-ease, clearing the murk of the collective unconsciousness as it manifests in these dreams called culture.”

3. Afro-Surrealists restore the cult of the past. We re-introduce “madness” as visitations from the gods, and acknowledge the possibility of magic. We take up the obsessions of the ancients and kindle the dis-ease, clearing the murk of the collective unconsciousness as it manifests in these dreams called culture.

4. Afro-Surrealists use excess as the only legitimate means of subversion, and hybridization as a form of disobedience” ~fiona foley

5. Afro-Surrealists strive for rococo: the beautiful, the sensuous, and the whimsical. We turn to Sun Ra, Toni Morrison, and Ghostface Killa. We look to Kehinde Wiley, whose observation about the black male body applies to all art and culture: “There is no objective image. And there is no way to objectively view the image itself.”

7. The Afro-Surrealist wears a mask while reading Leopold Senghor

10. Afro-Surrealists create sensuous gods to hunt down beautiful collapsed icons."

inspiration

2011-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

i'm having a good day and feeling like i should not give up. gonna make a push to salvage this semester. there's still 2 months so i feel like if i just.try.really.hard. i can make significant progress. this piece by letha wilson

seems really interesting to me both aesthetically and conceptually in the sense that she's "framing" something that "we" the viewer usually take for granted. this is interesting if you think about it from a resistance lense in the sense that like the "occupy" events, they are calling attention to a group of people, set of conditions etc. that are taken for granted and/or over looked. i am thinking of doing something simple like this to simply "frame" an injustice or a set of conditions that i think are over-looked. i may also think of this where light is concerned..."shedding"/shining light on things that are normally over-looked or invisible. i'm going to attend a solar workshop with my artist mentor this weekend and hopefully that will glean some practical skill that could assist in doing something light related. slowly...(as hell) but surely...

occupy all things

2011-10-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Storefront for Art and Architecture is making a call for submissions for projects and strategies that offer a new, creative and productive way of spatial occupation for public demonstrations and actions in cities throughout the world. Gathering expertise from the various acts of civil occupation throughout the world during the last months, we ask architects, artists and citizens at large to offer their ideas for enabling acts of communication and action between the civil society and the structures of economic and political power.

Submission requirements:
1 image [plan, diagram, photograph, code...] 11x11 inches, 300dpi jpg format
A title and a text of 200 words maximum.
Name or Pseudonim

Deadline:
As soon as possible . December 1st, 2011.

Submissions:
Please send your files to occupy@storefrontnews.org

Prizes:
1st Prize: The possibility of a new world order

Submissions will be exhibited in a pop up installation at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York in December and in the ongoing Storefront Strategies for Public Occupation Archive.

though i am currently failing miserably at school stuff and using all of my brain power for running a NPO I have to admit. I'm ALL about this. once again, i thank my muse of 16 years for always putting me on to the new new.

subversion of everyday situations for extraordinary experiences

2011-09-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

i ran across this "situation" in my alley.

to some it seems like a pile of trash. for me, i stopped and pondered b/c it seemed strangely composed and like something if you tried to put it together it would never be as beautiful. immediately i started thinking of ways to use this moment...these objects...this place. as a site. i imagined the spaces and structure of the mattress serving as a framework for a speaker box/projector of things and people that happen there. besides a place of rest, the most immediate activity and purpose i think of is of sex, but so many other intimate domestic moments there and now discarded. what happens if i fabricate a memory and then project it at night for all to see and remember. i will try to collage something and post what i was imagining.

guerilla girls do hull house

2011-09-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

last week, i made it out to see the guerilla girls give a lecture in honor of the birthday of Jane Adams.

seeing them in person i was definitely inspired by the interventionist concepts and ideas that they represent but also i got into a provocative discussion afterward with some other audience members that raised some critical questions about them and their work as well. a lot of the work seemed dated and i wondered what they are currently working on or how to tackle current issues, whether their media change or stay the same as a calling card of sorts and lastly how they are ensuring/continuing the legacy of the guerilla girls. being anonymous, it seems like such a tremendous opportunity to create a whole new masked crop of guerilla girls to continue the work. i don't think any of these questions were answered but it definitely gave me some things to chew on where medium/style etc. are concerned, as they definitely have a "calling card" style of sorts...which is especially interesting in this whole robin-hood of the art world concept. this is a conversation has come up for me a couple times, from the residency to a conversation that i recently had with my new mentor. e.g. how important is style in communicating your message and how do you manipulate/subvert existing popular culture/styles to mobilize people around an issue area? and is using popular culture iconography from the 80's effective today? not so much i don't think but all really interesting questions to adapt to 2011.

"hand in glove"

2011-08-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

right up my alley. don't mind if i do...register that is.

"Join threewalls for a national convergence of artists and independent organizers working at the crossroads of creative administration and studio practice. This four-day event includes the Hand-in-Glove Conference on grassroots creative activity and innovative organizing models across the country and the release of PHONEBOOK 3, a directory of independent art spaces, programming, and projects throughout the United States and a collection of critical essays written by the people who run them." more here

mapping the space of desire

2011-08-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

ok, i am admittedly behind on my creative work...i guess thats what happens when you dip off to indonesia for a month after residency. but i am also newly inspired. hope to be making and posting several things i've *started* over the next few weeks. but i *am* reading and on pace with the academic portion of things. just ran across this little diddy

from one of my mentors jeff hou from UW. *really* excited to get inside and read: mapping the space of desire:brothel as a city landmark by yung-teen annie chiu. went to a sex-worker film fest here in chicago which was *awesome* and made me think in complex ways about my work and the intermingling/layering of issues. anyhoo hopefully i'll be actually *posting* some mapping exercises as such as well.we'll see. gotta secure an artist mentor asap. so far asked 2 ppl and folks are super slow to respond. as in they haven't. sigh. not getting discouraged. got 4 months still till residency 2.

David Hammons 10 Things (1986)

2011-07-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

as i'm finishing up my residency summary which is due monday and which i totally meant to turn in before i left the country...i am starting to look up some of the artists that came up in my critiques. one of which is david hammons. i am definitely inspired by his manifesto of sorts. i have written a few myself over the years. i'll have to dig them up and see if i can start to knit together my writing with my images/proposals.

anyhoo, my favorites of his are 4,5 & 8 (9's not so bad either) :

4. I JUST LOVE THE HOUSES IN THE SOUTH, THE WAY THEY BUILT THEM. THAT NEGRITUDE ARCHITECTURE. I REALLY LOVE TO WATCH THE WAY BLACK PEOPLE MAKE THINGS, HOUSES OR MAGAZINE STANDS IN HARLEM, FOR INSTANCE. JUST THE WAY WE USE CARPENTRY. NOTHING FITS, BUT EVERYTHING WORKS. THE DOOR CLOSES, IT KEEPS THINGS FROM COMING THROUGH. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE THAT NEATNESS ABOUT IT, THE WAY WHITE PEOPLE PUT THINGS TOGETHER; EVERYTHING IS A THIRTY-SECOND OF AN INCH OFF.

5. THAT'S WHY I LIKE DOING STUFF BETTER ON THE STREET, BECAUSE THE ART BECOMES JUST ONE OF THE OBJECTS THAT'S IN THE PATH OF YOUR EVERYDAY EXISTENCE. IT'S WHAT YOU MOVE THROUGH, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SENIORITY OVER ANYTHING ELSE.

THOSE PIECES WERE ALL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE BLACK VIEWER HAD A REFLECTION OF HIMSELF IN THE WORK. WHITE VIEWERS HAVE TO LOOK AT SOMEONE ELSE'S CULTURE IN THOSE PIECES AND SEE VERY LITTLE OF THEMSELVES IN IT.

8. IF YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE THEN IT'S EASY TO MAKE ART. MOST PEOPLE ARE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR IMAGE. ARTISTS HAVE ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE BOXED IN BY SAYING "YES" ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE SEEN, AND THEY SHOULD BE SAYING "NO." I DO MY STREET ART MAINLY TO KEEP ROOTED IN THAT "WHO I AM." BECAUSE THE ONLY THING THAT'S REALLY GOING ON IS IN THE STREET; THAT'S WHERE SOMETHING IS REALLY HAPPENING. IT ISN'T HAPPENING IN THESE GALLERIES.
-----

light reading...

2011-07-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

thanks d.r.e.s.

we glow in the dark...

2011-07-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

call for submissions...a torkwase dyson production!.. form here. leaving the country in 3 days and its due the day i get back. not sure i can pull it together but an interesting opportunity that could totally be relevant for my scope of work...especially thinking metaphorically about the proverbial "we" and emerging from darkness...has all kinds of implications for exposing hidden narratives in public space. i'll see what i can do!

and SCENE...enter AIB

2011-06-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

so as of June 16 i have begun a low-residency master of fine arts program. as a program requirement, i must document my progress via blogging. so rather than start a new one, i figure i will breathe new life into this one, as it has followed my trajectory of interests in this area for more than 7 years, even though the last few have been a little stale.

anyhoo...one might ask...why in tarnation would i be engaged in such an endeavor. if i were seeking any more education wouldn't a PH.D. be the more appropriate pursuit? perhaps. except its not neccessarily about the degree for me, and even if it were, for art an MFA is a terminal degree just as a Ph.D. is for other disciplines, so it does expand a few options if certain opportunities present themselves. so here i am.

i have always struggled with how to balance my creative self with my inescapable desire for justice and equality and have definitely leaned toward the latter in my professional pursuits. when i quit my job at the end of last year, it was because i felt imbalanced and i wanted to level things out by immersing myself into creative studies and practice in the way that i have immersed myself in public administrative practice. i decided unilaterally, to abandon all of my work experience and skills in that area. i applied for a low-residency MFA program that would allow me the flexibility to be in chicago with my family and networks but also push and propel me into a rigorous creative practice...however that unfolds.

it hasn't worked out *exactly* as planned, as i quite unexpectedly have delved into another job that is incredibly meaningful to me but involves more non-profit management...perhaps its meant to be...its funny how life works like that. but in any case, as i think about the relationship between my professional work experience and my artistic interests/endeavors...at the heart of them, the interests aren't so separate. at the core...i am deeply interested in cities. in their entirety. including but not limited to the intersections of physical space with social space and all the socio-political factors and systems that impact the two. i'm interested in rules and structures and how to either improve them for the greater good of ALL people or break them and re-invent. i'm interested in the individual and the collective. identities and bodies and how they move through the world. i'm interested in voices and presence and progress. over the next two years, i hope to find my own voice artistically and be able to develop a practice that makes sense both personally and professionally. over the next couple months there will likely be some formatting/structural changes to accomodate the various things i need to chronicle. but...stay tuned...hopefully it'll get interesting!

whats out there weekend

2011-06-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Free Two-Day Celebration of Chicago’s Parks, Gardens & Public Spaces. Sponsored by The Cultural Landscape Foundation. interesting stuff. check it out!

green school swoon

2011-03-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

thanks so much to my colleague and confidant atechno for putting me on to the TED talk ("inspiring ideas worth spreading"!) for green school

bell hooks said, "what we cannot imagine, cannot come into being" i am in the process of re-imagining my entire life beyond convention. i'm setting a goal to spend summer 2012 at green school with my boys. so there. i'm willing it to reality.

music to the masses

2011-03-05T12:06:00.000-08:00

kudos to yo yo ma for the program citizen musician. check out this flash mob through chicago train station! dope. every now and then my alderman leads a drumming flash mob through my neighborhood and it always gets me hyped!

Vote for Freeform|Deform

2011-01-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

haven't posted here in a while...2011 has brought lots of change! stopping in tho, to spread the word that my college friend lek's firm: Freeform|Deform is in third place out of 300 contestants in this Green Home design competition, and needs your vote! weigh in, and them get to first, please & thank you!

so proud of our students & ACE Mentor Program Chicago

2010-09-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

yay for design build education. more here

the big hammock

2010-08-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

"One may think of the hammock as a new suspended common ground where the individual’s weight, size and position are in concert with other bodies on the hammock. It is a social ground." ~hansy better

my friend hansy is doing this amazing public art project and needs support. check it out!

also check out the awesome foundation, that started it all...

RIP + NEA (a lil bad news and a lil good news)

2010-01-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

in my inbox today, a message about the passing of a pioneering community design professional in seattle that i had the pleasure of working for, Jan Gleason, executive director emeritus of the non-profit design firm environmental works.

environmental works ,will be honoring Jan's memory by contributing to the Homeless Remembrance Project. This is a homeless memorial project that values people and community - values that guided Jan's career. check it out.

in other news, someone from the u.s. green building council nominated me for the NEA Foundation’s inaugural Green Prize in Public Education! not sure where that came from but grateful non the less. The NEA Foundation created the inaugural Green Prize in Public Education to recognize and showcase an outstanding public school educator or program that best advances social and environmental responsibility.
This annual prize recognizes those public school educators or programs that empower and inspire students to be more socially and environmentally responsible and to become better environmental stewards, creating a sustainable environment for our communities, country and world.

my wish for design education for america's youth.

2009-11-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

I popped into the Architecture and Design Education Network (A+DEN) Conference last week at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. for Maurice Cox' brainstorm on a national design initiative funded by the NEA...he kicked it off with us all making a wish for america's youth for design education.

i wish...that through design, America's youth had the opportunity to influence real-world situations and spaces for the better...and that design gives them the power to voice their opinions, demonstrate leadership and express their identity.

"summer school"

2009-06-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

i'm busy busy busy...too busy to blog it seems =)

but i was excited to see one of my schools has their summer architecture program for elementary students up on their website with great images!

check it out here.

this summer

2009-06-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

i've got plans.

i live here:

next to this:

okay...it doesnt quite look THAT bad...i'll take another pic...that's from the cook county assessor's website. even, my bldg on the right doesnt look like that any more (pre-shotty-rehab).

but the point is, the vacant lot next to me needs some special attention. its privately owned but not cared for, AT ALL. the 3rd floor residents of the 4 flat to the south of it throw full bags of trash off the back porch into it instead of walking down to the alley for the trash cans. the neighbors down the street bring their dog to crap in it and don't pick up the poop. kids in the summer set up a lemonade stand in front of it and leave all their trash afterward. last summer we even had some spontaneous 'parties' on the lot with a conglomeration of neighborhood hoopties at all hours of the morning. sigh.

so this summer, project #1 is to treat this as a design problem. i have to live next to this space. one question is, what can i do to make it more aesthetically pleasing...but also i'm thinking of doing some programming in the space. perhaps some impromptu art making with the kids in the neighborhood...it'll give my kids something to do too. of course its not "mine" to do anything with (actually 14" of it is mine...since my fence was mis-installed)...but the owners don't live nearby and never monitor it. i'm thinking guerilla style. saturday morning set up/tear down...flexible, retractable something or other to get some positive activity going here. hmmm. stay tuned.

project 2:

my sad sad state of a yard. the south side of the lot has an extra 10feet. with no bldg there is is over exposed by the sun and the grass just sizzles. so, i tore half of it out a couple weeks ago...

i'm going to plant it with native plants, some seating etc. along the long side area...in the back, a "tree house", raised vegetable beds and some kind of enclosure for the back carport which is totally exposed to the alley. also on the front parkway, i think i'll plant some sedges or something.

anyhoo for this weekend, step one:

3 cubic yards of mulch
, install "prairie smoke":
,

and some "mountain mint"
all of it will get phased in over the the course of the summer.
along the perimiter i'm putting some tall grasses called "little blue-stem":

my colleague Jaime Zaplotosch from openlands will be advising me, b/c i do NOT have a green thumb at all. keep your fingers crossed people!

intersections

2009-06-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

bear with me, any exclusively design oriented friends. here's another tangential post about how i process things in my world-view and filter through my identity as a designer, educator, reformer in relation to other issues that i am passionate about.

last night in my role as vice chair of the board of directors for IL Caucus for Adolescent Health i made a presentation to a group of prosepective funders of the Chicago Foundation for Women's/Tide's Catalyst Grant fund which is focused on reproductive justice. they are trying to raise 100k in the next six months. the incoming CFW board chair asked, how to get people to donate to this issue??? to which i responded...its about discussion, dialogue, exposure, and truth telling. it never fails to inspire people. in a sense, blogging is that (though no replacement for in person social networking as my friend peter exley so eloquently pointed out later last night at pecha-kucha vol.9--whoo hoo---but i digress.) we are obsessed with stories...and hopefully those stories spur action.

so, in my presentation, i started with a story. my story was about how after doing youth development with young women for about 7 years i got really burnt out emotionally and decided to go to architecture school (ha! architecture school as a vacation...yes, i can hear you laughing HYSTERICALLY). after architecture school i profoundly missed working with and on behalf of young people and ran a summer environmental arts program to quench that thirst. in the course of that program one day during lunch break, a 15 y/o mother was huddled over with a bunch of other girls...i came over to check in and see what was up. well, turns out they were orchestrating an attack...in lay terms, they were planning for her to get "jumped". more specifically, they were making sure that each girl got $10 to kick her in the stomach enough times to make sure that she lost the second baby she was carrying. besides the fact that this was a jarring situation, that i no doubt intervened in...i really had an epiphany about intersections. people and progress are complex and nothing is in a vacuum. NOTHING. there's no such thing as a singular issue...and i am reminded of this daily.

i have always considered my youth development work to be community development...and in that i have always used collaborative art-making and a participatory design process (mostly public art) as a tool to addressing and un-packing real-life social issues, i consider my arts and design education work to be community development as well. now in education i feel the same thing. we must understand the intersections of education and the complex lives of students...people...in order to reach them with both rigor AND relevance. reproductive justice is saying that also. people bring their WHOLE selves everywhere they go. you can't talk to a child about physics if they are hungry. you can't teach a child about environmental stewardship and sustainability when they don't have access to sexual health services and are plotting their own violent demise. its gonna come up in the process...and its just ALL connected...and the more we realize this the richer our social change efforts will become. Here is a chart from the organization asian communities for reproductive justice that attempts to note the intersections of social justice issues (environmental justice, immigrant rights, worker rights, education, anti-violence etc.)

i'm not posting this to preach about RJ. i'm posting it as a model of analytically understanding intersections (yes that is the word of the day), b/c to me, we should see all issues in this way. understanding the other factors and movements influence the issues we care about...we need to forge collaborations and coalitions and work across disciplines at all time in order to make change. (stepping off soap box now).

_________________________________________

however if in fact anyone IS interested in more more info about RJ, adolescent sexual health, teen parenting, or general philanthropy for women and girls around human rights: economic security (employment and expanded access to
economic opportunity); freedom from violence (including domestic violence,
sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and prostitution), and health (access
to services and information related to mental, physical and reproductive health).

see:

the catalyst fund brochure.

visit the chicago foundation for women website

the donation page for the catalyst fund

the ICAH website and their donation page here.

Diversity in Design: The Diversity Pipeline

2009-06-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

to readers of architectural record this article is redundant...but i feel it only natural to post this spotlight on design education. we soooo wanted one of these in chicago. i think the thunder of our efforts was stolen by:

A) the stigma of career and technical education (formerly vocational education)...and disbelief that we could actually do something innovative and cutting edge and forecast industry needs in this profession and the professing the PROFOUND value of design based education in developing analytical skills and critical thinking. SIGH. (i'm not bitter!)

and

B) the centrifugal force of the development of the new chicago ARTS school: "chi-arts". the arts community of chicago has mobilized and put an ENORMOUS amount of support behind this school (rightfully so...my mom got herself into crazy debt sending me to a private art high-school of the same nature after public school proved its limitations in arts education) . at this point i'm not sure if its redundant to have a design school in addition to an arts school...but it really is a missed opportunity to not build on this energy and gross need for design education. if only there were some SIMPLE way to let educational leaders understand the power and value of design. every object, space, text etc. has been designed and people don't realize that this education can lead to that.

Civic Leadership and Hybridization of the Design Profession

2009-05-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

i meant to post, that by invitation, April 28th i headed down to Austin, TX to participate as a panelist in this symposium "Rethinking the City, Rethinking our Role" orchestrated by designer/educator rockstar Alex Gilliam and two of his equally talented colleagues Stephanie Perrone-Freeborg (who lives in the uber-cool UT solar decathalon house) and Doug Cambell at the UT School of Architecture. it was just the inspiration i needed to keep my morale high and not get discouraged by the mundane aspects of my gig and keep striving for innovation and transgression beyond the status quo.

the purpose of the symposium was to show the multitude of ways that people with architectural education are impacting society within and outside the traditional path of architecture. i of course always like to talk about the work i am doing to facilitate real life design, build and landscape opportunities through hands-on education...but it was a treat to learn about the work of others and get inspired. i shared the panel with Michael Gatto ACDDC (Austin Community Design & Development Center), Brent Brown of Building Community Workshop based in Dallas...of particular interest was their Congo Street Initiative , Chris Krager of KRDB, and Damon Rich founder of CUP(Center for Urban Pedagogy)

austin is pretty awesome. i need to go back there.

38 block walk of alliance

2009-05-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the historic South Side Community Arts Center (SSCAC) engaged in a series of happenings geared toward building a stronger network between the two institutions.

The event began on the steps of the Art Institute (which is now a whopping 18 bux to enter...hot damn) at 4PM, with a 30-second public Flash-Mob...10 performers with cameras posed as pedestrians to create a large 'Flash' kicking off the event. A symbolic '38-Block Walk' commenced down Michigan Avenue to SSCAC @ 3831 South Michigan Avenue, highlighting places and events along the way.see their class blog here.

Beginning around 6 pm, the walkers joined in the bustling activities at the Center which included a tea ceremony of local herbal teas (plants found in the hood!), a participatory video installation portraying the history of SSCAC's vital artistic community, exuberant conversation, massages, the production of a large origami sculpture, tap dancing, a photo booth creating documenting living history, a Home Cooking' performance and recipe sharing, a dumpling workshop, and tours of the Center.

At 7:00, participants enjoyed a buffet of Southern Soul Food from Pearl's Place, a bonfire and light projections. At 8 pm, there was a live DJ, breakdancing, and various musical and dance venues. This event is supported by the Southside Community Art Center, the SAIC Sculpture and Art Education Departments, and the Office of Multi-cultural Affairs and numerous individuals. i had a blast...my 3y/o got the party going like no one else could. good times for a good purpose.

eco-launch HS sustainability program

2009-04-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

looks like a cool program for HS students to learn about sustainability from a VERY cool organization foresight design inititiative...described as: "...seeking to improve and sustain the quality of life in the urban environment through smart design, without sacrificing the needs of future generations. Embracing strategies that engage design practitioners, government agencies, the business and non-profit communities, and the public, Foresight collaborates to develop and empower initiatives, build community support and engender a positive human evolution."

HOWEVER (comma)...why on EARTH does it come with a 1200.00 price tag?!? (for 3 weeks!)

alternative land uses...

2009-04-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm always excited to see productive uses of land in my struggling neighborhood of Lawndale. One such use is the Chicago Botanic Garden's "green youth farm" which is literally 2 blocks from my house. this reclaimed site engages young people in food production and provides a source of fresh produce in a neighborhood which is very close to being a food desert.

another exciting thing just up the street from me is a cool bee-keeping operation resulting in "beeline products" a little video coverage called "sweet beginnings"here.

I'm all about social entrepreneurship. so you should know that the purchase of each beeline® product helps people facing significant barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. With your purchase you provide viable opportunities for individuals to establish a work history, learn productive work habits, and gain marketable skills. Your investment builds stepping stones toward employment, career advancement, and productive membership in society

Open Architecture Competition

2009-04-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of design firms partnering with some of my schools to work with students on Architecture For Humanity's Open Architecture Challenge to design a sustainable classroom. Gensler is working with Clemente HS (where i taught for 3 months! yay) and IDEO is keeping a blog to track the progress of their work on this competition with Juarez High School. i'm excited to see what they come up with for the June 1 deadline...will post pics as i see them!

Students Build Model Green Home

2009-04-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

I'm like the little engine that could, trying to make the same thing happen in chicago (fingers crossed breaking ground in June----with all the delays---sigh).

but check out these students in virginia did here

Eventually, the scale-model house will go on display at parks, fairs and other public sites to serve as a lesson on environmentally friendly building. For now, as it sits in a school garage growing more complete by the day, it's an example of what can happen when students combine strengths.

Ours, will not just be a model...but be a functioning building for purchase =).

semi-automatic babble

2009-03-31T22:38:00.001-07:00

*not* related to my blog topic at ALL.
but pure genius i think.
something i rather immensely enjoy and think others should/would too.

afrigadget:::solving everyday problems with african ingenuity.

2009-03-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

um, how cool is THIS. defnitely check the 3yrs of archives.

this reminds me that for some time now, i have wanted to start documenting the ingenious inventions i have seen domestically in urban communities where i've lived and where people had no other choice but to 'DIY'. i'm gonna start doing that here (at some point..lol)

converge/exchange. what communities, activists, and practitioners can teach eachother: a chicago dialogue

2009-03-19T17:25:00.001-07:00

not. sure. HOW i didn't know about this. arrgh. what email distribution am i NOT on? i'm on CAF, i'm on LISC's new communities, i'm ON ACD (association of community design)...what the hell. it appears it was EVERYWHERE but on my radar. anyway...last night i would have needed a sitter for sure, and today what was i mired in? total mandatory bureacratic nonsense that has been spiraling out of control for at LEAST a year...trying to plead my case for constituent/community based planning for transforming our program delivery to people who think i'm a radical idealist or something. someone...PLEASE come save me. no, seriously. the writing is on the wall. stick a fork in me. i'm DONE.

Design Advocacy...

2009-03-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

LOVE IT.

The Green Energy Education Act would provide grants for university programs that develop curricula on designing and constructing high performance buildings. Special priority would be given to design, architecture, landscape architecture, and planning programs.

I gotta get more hooked into these legislative things that are happening that impact my work...or what I WANT to be my work =).

Here's another one I saw designed to improve the ability of some small communities to coordinate with universities and design professionals in developing a vision to address their local needs.

Who knew ASLA was so on top of Advocacy...KUDOS! I gotta probe the AIA site and see what they are on in this regard.

PECHA KUCHA TONIGHT!

2009-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

so...my online personality is SOOOOO much better than my in person one, but if you're in chicago...you should TOTALLY check out Pecha Kucha Vol.8!!! i'm cohosting with Peter Exley of architecture is fun (who's wit and outfits are NOT to be missed). I can hardly believe its Volume 8 already. I presented at Volume 1, the inaugural chicago incarnation of this international event...it rocks my world...and i think it will rock yours too. Come see me do my thizzle...oh and the rest of the folks too = )

Beat the economy doldrums by networking with a few hundred of Chicago's most interesting creative individuals. You might meet the person who will give you your big break, or perhaps you and a friend will be inspired to germinate the idea that makes you your first (or second) million. Who knows what will happen at PechaKucha Night (if you were at Volume 7, you know what we mean!). Just to round it off, Marytrs' always has a $2.50 beer special too. Chicago’s Volume 8 on March 3rd features 6 minutes and 40 seconds seconds each of architect Dan Wheeler, School of the Art Institute President and architect Duke Reiter, 3rd generation musician Miles Nielsen of Rockford, recent Harrington College of Design graduate Beth DeBonis, artists Jesse Seay of Chicago and Dan Rybicky of Gary, IN, cartographer Dennis McClendon, game programmer and Columbia College faculty member Theresa Devine, designer and educator Anne Wells, landscape architect Peter Osler, and Rujanee Mahakanjana whose film on architecture, “Man and His Erections”, recently premiered at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Architects and educators Peter Exley and Yamani Hernandez will emcee the evening.

PechaKucha Night Chicago presents Volume 8 March 3rd, 2009 at 8:00pm at Martyrs’, 3855 N Lincoln Avenue, Chicago Advance ticket purchase recommended. Tickets $10 (21 and over only). Charge by phone at (800) 594-8499 or via the internet here.

Senate Cuts Arts from Stimulus Bill

2009-02-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

ACTION ALERT

"This afternoon the U.S. Senate, during their consideration of the economic recovery bill, approved an egregious amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that stated "None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project." Unfortunately, the amendment passed by a wide vote margin of 73-24, and surprisingly included support from many high profile Senators including Chuck Schumer of New York, Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, and several other Democratic and Republican Senators.

If the Coburn amendment language is included in the final conference version of this legislation, many arts groups will be prevented from receiving economic recovery funds from any portion of this specific stimulus bill. It is clear that there is still much work to be done in the Senate and in the media about the role that nonprofit arts organizations and artists play in the nation's economy and workforce."

to take action visit americans for the arts

Congrats to CAF

2009-01-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Architecture Foundation continues to be rewarded for its amazing collaborative reform of our school system's antiquated architectural drafting education to a holistic design-based education.

From the AIA press release:

"The Architecture Handbook, a joint effort between the Chicago Architecture Foundation and Chicago Public Schools produced The Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings, by Jennifer Masengarb with Krisann Rehbein. The guide, along with its accompanying CD and a teachers’ edition, came together via a collaborative process including educators, practitioners, and students and reaches well beyond the mechanics of CAD and BIM skills. “The book refocuses emphasis away from strictly acquiring technical drawing skills and towards the application of those skills in the service of studying the design process, architectural history, preservation, geography, urban studies, and sociology to explore the built environment,” writes Peter G. Ellis, FAIA, RIBA, in support of the nomination."

Green Revolution

2009-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

It WILL be televised ya'll :)

I'm looking forward to checking out this year's "Black Creativity" exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry.

This year's theme, "Green Revolution", explores green technology and innovation and features African American architects, designers, engineers and business leaders in the 'green movement'. There are some awesome workshops on the roster. I'm glad to to see MSI taking this approach and look forward to some more interesting work.

congratulations mr.president

2009-01-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

i would be (and was) remiss in acknowledging the significance of this amazing day.

the inauguration of barack obama, 44th president of the US

the man is not perfect and i soooo loathe the messiah complex that some seem to have...but i have to say that i am beyond excited and wholly inspired. we have a president who understands urbanity, pluralism, and justice.

i remember him knocking on the door of my mom's house more than once as an organizer and as a young politician looking for votes. its a beautiful thing to think that someone so "on the ground" (not that there aren't folks more on the ground than he) is running this nation. i love it. i am equally excited to have michelle obama as first lady. not because she went to one of the same elementary schools that i went to and lived only blocks away from where i grew up (how cool is that???) but because if people weren't so busy worrying about her outfits they might take note and recognize her extraordinary vision. she was the executive director of public allies the domestic americorps and community leadership program that i did 12 years ago that really changed my life. i can't wait to see her agenda. this is a magical time for a paradigm shift that is long overdue.

shout out to reverend lowery's benediction for its profound secular significance as much as any prayer and aretha's hat.

1st LEED certified home built by high school students

2009-01-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is a 1300 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, ranch style, modular home.
The students of CATEC's Carpentry Program have constructed last year’s home following the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines for sustainably built homes. Following these guidelines leads towards the construction of a more energy efficient, and environmentally friendly building. Several “Green” features of last year’s house include the following:

§ Hardi-plank Siding
§ Standing Seam Metal Roof
§ Non-toxic Cellulose Wall Insulation
§ Low VOC Caulks and Adhesives
§ Low E Argon-filled Windows
§ Energy Star Light Fixtures

The CATEC "green" home was auctioned off to the highest bidder(47K). The new homeowner was thrilled by her purchase and looks forward to getting her new home.

Exquisite city

2009-01-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

here's something i hope some of the students in our programs will check out:

exquisite city

This exhibit features an architectural model of a fantasy city made almost entirely of cardboard created by more than 70 artists. Also includes an audio installation of music and sounds recorded on Chicago streets.

visible city

2009-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

ok clearly i have already broken my little resolution.

anyhoo...his seems pretty neat:

The Visible City Project seeks to understand the different roles that artists play in imagining and helping to design 21st century cities. The project investigates how art practices function in specific contemporary urban contexts as a tool for enhancing communication and renovating democratic citizenship, and how they might be used to educate and transform the experience of urban dwelling in light of the changing technological, economic and cultural experiences of globalization.

Through research and colloquia, the project will look at the implications of these changes for artists, collectives, spaces and interventions.

New Sustainability Initiatives in Chicago

2009-01-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Got invited to this today...which is part of the Mid-American Horticultural Trade Show but sounds open to the public.

Illinois Green Industry Meeting
Thursday, January 15th - 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
McCormick Place West - Room 184

The Illinois Green Industry Association (IGIA) invites all registrants and guests to attend to a special presentation by the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District highlighting new sustainability initiatives. Growers, landscape contractors,arborists, landscape architects and others who work on projects in Chicago should attend this informational session to learn more about the Chicago Climate Action Plan, Adding Green to Urban Design, City of Chicago Invasive Species Ordinance, Chicago Park District Sustainable Landscape Standards, and other programs that will continue to impact your work.

Everyone is encouraged and welcome to attend this free presentation and discussion.

Temple Exercises

2009-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

If you're in Chicago...plan to see this exhibition.

sorry i missed the opening last night which has gotten rave reviews...but i have 3 of the other events in my calendar on the 10th,13th and 26th in my calendar.

Theaster Gates' Temple Exercises is a series of exercises that occur both at the MCA and around the city. Exploring the relationships among art, politics, and race, Theaster Gates constructs a temple-like structure that merges aspects of African-American and Japanese traditions. Gates's construction also serves as a contemplative space meant to inspire dialogue across philosophical and cultural boundaries on topics ranging from politics and religion to culture, food, and art as well as a performative space for the Black Monks, a group of Baptist-Buddhist musicians who mix slave spirituals, monastic chants, and jazz to create a singular sonorous experience. The exhibition is curated by Tricia Van Eck at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Theaster's work (both performance and the tactical artifact) is especially interesting to me, having grown up both Buddhist and Black, i've often internally speculated on whether those experiences are completely parallel or if/how they intersect.

*update* (after seeing the saturday afternoon performance at little black pearl i was really stunned. he and the 'black monks of mississipi' created a meditative and spiritual experience the likes of which i literally have ONLY experienced in a place of worship...it was truly something that both defied one religious tradition and also felt deeply related to many. the shoe shine...talked about power and priveledge and struggle and humility and pride, unrecognized and undervalued talents, artforms, people...just so, so much... this work reinforced for me, art as a way of knowing...along with the power and poetry of collaborative work and the intermingling of disciplines. theaster is a profound individual...i am thankful for his work, ecstatic for his success and i look forward to watching his progress.

oops

2009-01-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

1st day back at work threw my blogging game off yesterday.

for yesterday:

i've been wondering about whats up with Obama's short but sweet Arts Platform now that the economy has gone to hell.

my favorite part of which was:

"Create an Artist Corps: Barack Obama and Joe Biden support the creation of an “Artists Corps” of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. Studies in Chicago have demonstrated that test scores improved faster for students enrolled in low-income schools that link arts across the curriculum than scores for students in schools lacking such programs."

for today:

i find it interesting and exciting the ways that artists are addressing issues of sustainability and popular culture in their work. i recently looked at what artist torkwase dyson is doing in her latest stuff. i met her years ago through a mutual friend and remember being really intrigued by her earthworks. Dyson describes her work as 'looking at popular culture and it’s material relationship to the environment. Through multiple forms she poses relational questions of consumerism, environmental segregation, global economy and access to natural recourses'.

i would have loved to have checked out her exhibition at the corcoran last month entitled,

"The Rims Costs but the Guck is Free "

Comprised of paintings, animation, sculpture, and wall-mounted drawings, the exhibition is a satirical jab at the nature of consumer-driven society, commerciality, pollution, identity, and the difficult borders between race, culture, and reality.

this is especially interesting to me because i have often wondered...how your average joe livin in the/my hood could be reached regarding issues of sustainability. i think the green for all movement starts that...in the sense of exposing the economic/job opportunities of sustainability to those who are low-income. however just the self reflection piece...you know looking at the impact of how you think, live, act...it seems like art can help with this. a mirror of sorts.

"new" ideas for "new" communities

2009-01-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

..."urban prosthetics"..."inhabitable toys"..."spatial corrections"

ludens,brainchild of ivan hernandez quintela is one i meant to blog a minute ago...actually in addition to the luden's website there are great artist sanctioned pics and an investigation of this guys' work here

when i see work like this, i bow down...yes...and i get excited because A)i think its stuff i want to/should be doing...but also because it gives me ammunition of sorts. there are these massive community development movements with massive amounts of funding attached to them such as the new communities program which is a comprehensive plan to revitalize 16 chicago neighborhoods through a "quality of life" plan created with neighborhood participation and implemented by a lead community organization. i live in one of these communities and have working relationships in 3 others...i actually adore this effort but i do have criticisms. one of which is that in most of the these quality of life plans, "art" is a component at some level but i feel like the murals and plop art that gets incorporated, while often quite beautiful, misses the point or at the very least an opportunity.

interventionist work (artwork some might call it) like the architect ivan hernandez quintela of ludens is virtually non-existent. this is what i pondered in my thesis and continues to baffle me...why is this work often relegated to artistic novelty? why don't community organizers and activists at the most mundane level know that this is a tactic/tool that they can use in galvanizing people to transform their environments? in community "plans" why does the art portion, the education portion the economic development portion etc. have to be segregated endeavors? i see things like...LUDEN's mobile public library, and i'm like hey...this has a place in the community development process its time to use new tools as we rebuild "new" communities.

Growing School Gardens

2009-01-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

part of the reason why my blog went defunct is because my work and personal schedules are insane. in 2009, i think i will try to let more of my work (like the green home build project) spill over into the blogosphere so that it feels more connected for me and less like one more 'task'.

one of the things i'm working on as i return back to work on monday (eek) is the collaborative implementation of a project of mayoral committee i am on which is tasked to devise a plan to incorporate "learning landscapes" at every one of the roughly 600 chicago public schools. this initiative currently dubbed, "growing school gardens" is exciting for a number of obvious reasons. my angle in this though is both the green design education AND the workforce development aspect for students. given the "green collar jobs" movement and also the lack of diversity in fields of environmental conservation and landscape architecture i feel like it is a tremendous opportunity to both educate students about the depth and significance of these fields but also give them real tangible training and work experience in designing, installing, maintaining and advocating for these critical spaces that will impact them now by enriching their educational experience and by offering a living wage...instead of always paying adults/companies to do it. this effort is only at the very beginning and has a lot of tentacles with some really amazing non-profits leading the way, such as openlands, chicago botanic gardens, and chicago wilderness federation (leave no child inside) and municipal groups like the the chicago park district and department of planning. more to come on this budding initiative set to make its first debut this summer with the installation of five new sites.

one thing i hope to do is incorporate the work of chicago based archi-treasures...they did a bang up job on their first of a 3 part professional development for my high-school career and technical education teachers in areas of architectural design+drafting, construction, and agriculture on how to create learning landscapes on school grounds this fall.

he said...

2009-01-02T21:44:00.000-08:00

"to be an artist, you dont have to compose music, or paint, or be in the movies or write books. its just a way of living. it has to do with paying attention, remembering, filtering what you see and answering back, participating in life." (viggio mortensen)

random quote in an interview but struck a chord with me.

"a collaborative artwork in the shape of neighborhood development"

2009-01-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

happy 2009!

resolution #1...not have a stale blog. my posts might be wack one-liners but they WILL be daily in 2009.
if i can be addicted to facebook, i can get blog-a-licious too.

anyhoo, the watts house project was recently featured in an issue of art forum and while it has been going on for almost a decade, in my ongoing quest to find intersections of art, architecture and community i thought it was interesting thing to jumpstart things.

Watts House Project (WHP) is an artist-driven urban revitalization project centered around the historic Watts Towers in Watts, California. Directed by preeminent Los Angeles artist Edgar Arceneaux, WHP is a large-scale artwork-as-urban-development engaging art and architecture as a catalyst for expanding and enhancing community.

from the LA Times article:

"The effort was first conceived by Rick Lowe, the mastermind behind Project Row Houses, a still-flourishing, public art project that grew up in Houston's once-crumbling Third Ward. Lowe's idea there was to rehab 22 former tenant shacks, and convert them into living -- and live-in -- works of art for the residents. It transformed the neighborhood from blemish to jewel. "These projects are a way of challenging the notion that low-income neighborhoods have to be poor neighborhoods," says Lowe."

i meant to end the year by giving props to this project which combines youth work, art work and public work. pinata factory which is all at once guerilla public art, a statement about the privatization/policing of public space, and distribution of emergency warming blankets for the homeless.

they are located here:

1...North ave under the kennedy

2...Sacramento ave under the kennedy

3...the kennedy under Grand ave

4...under the kennedy at Logan Blvd

upcoming:
january 13th at the MCA: Global Neighborhoods: Rick Lowe and Kyong Park in Conversation Moderated by Theaster Gates.

"How are cities and neighborhoods reconstituted, and how do the poetics of art and ritual both propel and complicate urban rebirth? In a conversation moderated by artist Theaster Gates, experimental architect and activist Kyong Park and artist and community organizer Rick Lowe engage in dialogue about urban transformation, contemporary art and the global ramifications of highly localized and conflicted processes of change."

here's to a great year!

Project H Design

2008-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Product Design Initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happiness"...and what do you know there's a Chicago Chapter. As evidenced by recent issues of Metropolis and Arch Record I'm happy to see that design for social responsibility is becoming so ubiquitous...whether it a fad or an enduring sentiment...needs are great and problems need solving. See their manifesto here.

hmmmm...

2008-10-10T19:22:00.001-07:00

i'll have to read and provide my thoughts on this shortly.

Student Green Build!

2008-09-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

So, I've been breaking my back all summer putting together a student built green affordable home building program...that was appproved by the board of education yesterday.

Designed by one of my favorite firms, Landon Bone Baker Architects...features a solar chimney, SIP panels, green roof, etc. (disclaimer: this silly collage with crooked bungalow above is my quick and dirty work not theirs =)...just wanted to show their building in context!)more/better renderings to follow =).

Scheduled to be Built by high school seniors from 5 different high schools under the guidance of their building trades teachers, general contractor and carpenters union. They will get OSHA certification, and 6 college credits from Wright College's environmental technology program through enrollment in a satellite after-school course at their high-schools. so many more details and logistics to plan...so little time....but the beauty is that it is actually happening.

Scheduled to be a part of Chicago's "CPAN" program (Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods)

Sponsored by ComEd, IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Carpenters Union and US! (Chicago Public Schools).

wish...

2008-03-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

...i could have made it to this:

Tonight at APA: Involving Kids in Planning

Madison Street Corridor Revitalization
Involving high school students in planning for their neighborhoods brings new perspectives to the table and opens students' eyes to new possibilities in their communities. Tonight at APA, Doug Hammel, AICP, and Joseph Kearney will talk about Leading Community Change, a partnership between the Chicago Public Schools , Bethel New Life, and the Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development at DePaul University that has involved high school students in a plan to revitalize West Madison Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. CM | 1.0

Doug Hammel, AICP, is an associate with Camiros Ltd., a Chicago-based planning, urban design and landscape architecture firm. He has managed the development of several plans that focus on neighborhood revitalization, downtown planning, corridor redevelopment, design and development controls, and community involvement.

Joseph Kearney is program manager for the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University , where he works to support ongoing initiatives related to planning and land use.

I also wish I would have heard about it through work since I work at CPS and it involved CPS students?!? AND I work to provide students with design based education!?! You would think there would be better communication between units etc. but alas...i think I will contact these folks on my own to find out more info. Sounds awesome and literally right up the street from where I live. kudos!

Design for the Contraband and Freedmens Cemetery Memorial

2008-03-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Contraband was a term used during the American Civil War referring to a black slave who escaped to or was brought within the Union lines whil Freedmen was a term used referring to an individual who had been freed from slavery.

For the next month and a half we're going to be working on submitting something for this:

The Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery Memorial Design Competition seeks design
submissions from architects, landscape architects, artists, students, and other interested individuals to memorialize and honor those who are buried at Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. The site was established in 1864 as a burial ground for African Americans who fled slavery, seeking a safe haven.

More than 1,800 people were buried there over the five years that the federal government managed the cemetery. After 1869 the cemetery may have been used unofficially by families as a burial ground but was likely not maintained formally. Over the years, the site has been compromised and hundreds of graves lost from a number of actions: the removal of soil from the cemetery for brickmaking; the adjacent development of two major highways; and the construction of a gas station and office building on the sacred site. Most people were unaware that a burial
ground survived under the pavement on the commercial property until historical research began to reveal the presence of the cemetery in 1987. Community interest and archaeological investigations over the last ten years have resulted in an appreciation for the cemetery, the largest historic African American burial
site in the city, and its long forgotten story. While other physical sites that recalled the once-considerable African American presencein Alexandria have been lost, the City of Alexandria acquired the property in 2007 in order to remove the buildings, reclaim the cemetery, and create a memorial.

perhaps i'll be brave enough to post whatever we come up with =).

one more time

2008-03-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

i officially am in love with LBBA...spent the day with my teachers today half of which was visiting their office...that is all.

Insecure Spaces

2008-02-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

How's this for subversive design? =) Sarah Ross' "Archisuit" consists of an edition of four leisure jogging suits made for specific architectural structures in Los Angeles. The suits include the negative space of the structures and allow a wearer to fit into, or onto, structures designed to deny them.

PUSH/PULL

2008-01-31T08:12:00.000-08:00

An "oldie" but goodie from the fall that I meant to post a small but poignant project from the University of Washington design/build challenge. A friend of mine, Andre Taybron was on the team who made it!

"A team of architecture graduate students from the University of Washington won the 2007 Design/Build Challenge in New Orleans for an interactive, tiered structure they designed for a New Orleans park.

Entrants were given 44 hours to find a client in recovering neighborhoods of the city, determine need, propose a design, raise money, build the project and present it to the independent jury.

The UW students designed a small chest of drawers for the Freret Park, a public park in the 13th Ward of New Orleans that needed seating, according to participating student Carl von Rueden.

Called "Push/Pull," tiers slide in and out of a cedar box structure for adjustable seating. A butterfly roof also helps rainwater drain, and waters a magnolia tree, planted to provide shade. Freret Park lost most of its trees due to Hurricane Katrina, according to von Rueden."

"The Revolution will not be Designed"

2008-01-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

what do you know. the dead has arisen.

this article was brought to my attention by someone close to me...

the author writes that the kind of progressivism that, "claims the kind of thinking that can save the world from the excesses of capitalism is one and the same as the kind that can increase profits' is naive at best" and she's right. However, she seems to be naive in her limited understanding of design, design thinking and therefore her 'critique of "design thinking" as problematic. What she's missing in her critique is an acknowledgement of the continuum of design and design thinking, as not all design is concerned with budgets and consensus or monetary value...which she thinks is a requisite for "design solutions"

the article reads, "...when it comes to the nastier socioeconomic and environmental corollaries of growth, everything is going to be just fine. No need to reevaluate or contest the road to economic development. When we run into “problems,” we’ll simply innovate our way out of them." This is oversimplication at its worst.

because taking the time to type out my reflections has become a bit cumbersome in 2007 and often thwarted my desire to post, instead of continuing my critique of this article or the phenomenon it represents, i figure i could easily just share a profoundly mutual sentiments of the response (some might say "rant")from the person who shared it with me...

Design continues to be narrowly defined as strictly a scientific,
problem-solving approach which delivers "products" influenced by market
research and user group studies, all in the name of corporate progress
-
that's not the design I'm talking about and interested in.

My vision of design is both inclusive and critical of the posters and
newspapers designed by:

-Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party;

-printed matter produced by tallers in post-revolution Cuba + post-colonial Latin American countries;

-Chicana rasquache aesthetics;

-post-civil rights Black aesthetic debates;

-Africanisms in American architecture and crafts;

-the formation of community design centers in 70s era U.S. Cities;

-participatory design in the Pacific Rim;

-capoeira's berimbau as both musical instrument and stealth weapon in Brazilian
plantations;

-Philip Simmon's iron gates in Charleston, S.C.;

-low-rider bicycle and custom car/toy culture;

-zoot suits and pachuco aesthetics;

-graveyard decorations of the Gullah-Geechee nation;

-hair shows and braiding;

-slavery era quilting as mapmaking...the list can go on and on,

the point is that we can't allow industry to dictate what design is or isn't...we must seize definitions and reorient ourselves and others to minor/subjugated narratives of design history, theory, and practice. In the examples listed above, design is firmly rooted in and responsive to its respective social/political/cultural contexts. Design in these instances is
critical, meaningful, and transformative, and exemplifies bell hooks notion of "counter-hegemonic cultural production".
design, gets sanitized in mainstream theory and history. As
such, in discussions and societal attempts to tackle these issues, we cannot continue to ONLY regurgitate popular notions of design.

the artical sounds sarcastic when it reads "design will emerge as the most powerful corrective force. for the worlds 'messiest' issues". from where i stand, design is not trying to be a mystical cure-all outside of reality...design is integral to our everyday lives (politics included!) and always has been. once we recognize that and the POWER that design has had in shaping some of the greatest progress and worst ills the better off we'll be at incorporating design in solutions in a deep and thoughtful way. some take the view that art is not revolutionary...and i myself have struggled with this idea too when confronted with artists who's work i appreciate aesthetically but seems to be for arts sake with no critical take...but just like there is commercialized art and there is revolutionary art there is commercialized design and revolutionary design. i'm want to be a part of the latter.

pumped about planning

2007-11-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

so...i've recently gotten a fire lit under me about planning...for many reasons. i mean, i've known for a long time even as an architecture student that i was less interested in the object i was designing than the physical and social context in which it was going to be integrated. however lately its been becoming urgent for me.

recently ran across this exhibition and programming "just space(s)" about spatial justice organized by ava bromberg (one of many i interviewed for my thesis). not a term that i knew when i was doing my thesis...but there appears to have been writing on the subject for more than 3 decades...and a good way to frame my work if i can ever fully delve back into it...=(. i've got stuff planned to explore+organize in my 'hood, but btwn F/T work + F/T motherhood the mental space is just...i dunno. cramped.i'm starting to think the only way to really do so it to get into a F/T planning program so...we'll see. don't want to just be doing the 'woulda coulda shoulda' thing 4ever. ya know?

in the meantime, i'm pondering submitting to the UCLA journal "critical planning" and perhaps this spatial justice conference in march.

we.shall.see.

"handing out vouchers like halloween candy"

2007-10-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

a friend of mine is coming to town next week who's doing research on the "transformation" of public housing...he hipped me to this tour:

ghetto bus tour

i might check it out...

a few things...

2007-10-25T20:18:00.001-07:00

andres' students are working on this blog and an exhibit opening this week at saic's G2 inspired by the public housing museum that the jane addams hull house is leading the effort to create.

check out "green high" on the dwell daily blog. this is THE curriculum that students in the architecture program that I run use. work on the sequel begins soon and i'm excited to be a part of it =)

lastly, blog of a friend (whom we recently became patrons of!):rebel arte: "liberation logic and subversive survival strategies"...i think that is my favorite tagline of all time =).

news you can use

2007-09-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

interesting project involving creating portable furniture with people in prison.
more on community arts network.

also...short notice but tomorrow is National parking day! taking back private space for public use.Join The Trust for Public Land for a National Park(ing) Day event near you, and turn a metered public parking spot into a public park!
National Park(ing) Day - Friday, September 21, 2007 - is a series of public art projects nationwide to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America's cities. check it out here.

wish i could see you there

2007-09-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

wish i was in NY for the opening of:

THE COPENHAGEN EXPERIMENTS

5 New Architectural Species from the Danish Welfare State
by Bjarke Ingels Group

An exhibition at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, NYC
Oct 2 2007 – Nov 24 2007, Opening on Oct. 2nd at 6:30pm

The exhibition presents projects that are all specific urban experiments conducted in Copenhagen since January 2001 by Bjarke Ingels Group *. At different stages of realization they portray a new breed of urban life forms, both locally specific and generally applicable, introducing residential diversity, programmatic alchemy, urban ascension, modular mania and political pro-action into the architectural species of the Danish welfare state. The projects in the exhibition are the VM Houses, the Mountain Dwellings, the Scala Tower , Kløverkarréen, and the LEGO Towers .

The projects represents 5 specific takes on human accommodation and shows how the potent urban mix of different functions, public and private, can be infused directly into architecture itself. Each project’s effect and reception is showcased dependant on to what extent it is already manifest in the public realm, ranging from images of life in the VM houses post-occupation, through the 250.000 piece LEGO model inhabited by 1000 LEGO people, to the excessive political debate about Kløverkarreen.

glad I'll be here for the next round of PECHA KUCHA!!! on the 25th. See you there!

back date...

2007-07-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

if i knew how, i'd back date this for 7.24 which is when i intended to post it:

So I was at a benefit for Project Osmosis (youth design mentorship) on Friday night...where two exciting things happened. A) my hubby got an award...yay! and B) Vincent Paglione dean at UIC got an award and in his speech said something that hit home with me and i wish i heard a lot more often.

he said that the biggest, hottest issues of our time are sustainability and within that natural resources management. he went on to say that what is often neglected within those conversations, design or ecological is that people are integral to sustaining life on earth and YOUTH are our one of our biggest natural resources. nuff said. it was one of those "he had me at hello" moments. i'm always trying to justify why i do the work that i do...why its important and how it fits into these current issues within the design, community development and sustainability conversations. and there it is. sustainability is about preservation and ensuring life for future generations. what better way to ensure that than honoring, empowering and cultivating youth leadership...in design, in the environment...in everything.

stuff

2007-06-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

currently working on submissions for a new journal of urbanism I got an email about.

and also this art+design for social justice symposium:

According to the link, The symposium focuses on how the tools and inherent abilities within the areas of art and design can be utilized in addressing issues confronting less advantaged groups within our local communities, states, regions or world. Somehow they have worked in an emphasis on aging...i'm not sure if i get that one i think they pick one 'social issue' a year for instance last years was about homelessness...i'm still going to send the stuff in.

and just finished a course proposals for marwen foundation which seems to be going toward acceptance.

check out: links galore in guerilla interventions here

and i ran across an interesting class 'social architectures':Interventionist Art, Social Design, and Cultural Change at UC San Diego. this looks like something i could maybe teach were i ever to be so lucky to land a faculty position...even adjunct.

contemplating ph.d....i know....i know...

Unexpected Value

2007-06-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

upon the invitation of public allies, a leadership development program which i am a 10th yr alum of i spent the last two days in a training on fundraising facilitated by the Grassroots Institute for fundraising training. i was sort of ambivalent about going to this training even though i voluntarily registered for it. i guess i was thinking that it never hurts to pick up a new skill. a fundraiser i am not, a fundraiser is not something i've ever had the desire to become and furthermore who isn't perpetually annoyed by being asked for money right? but hey, i'll go and see what knowledge i could gain....there are initiatives within my own job that i don't have the funding to do and i have my own ideas for organizations and social enterprises and can't do it for free. what i wasn't prepared for and was pleasantly delighted by was the paradigm shift and analysis of the political framework of money + fundraising. we even had an exercise where we examined our first memories of money and where our fear of asking for it comes from. i shared with my partner about my first memory being when i was about 7 when my parents finally got divorced after several years of separation. we spent some time without utilities and it was the first time i understood that you needed money for almost everything. my mom told us that we were going through Jedi training so what could have been a really embarrassing and uncomfortable experience got shifted in our minds to something special and fun. so, it was also a time when i learned that you do NOT need money to have fun or be happy. anyway,

the biggest things i walked away with were:

a) working class people give more of a percentage of their money than wealthy people
b) people who give usually give to 7 causes or organizations.
c) i too am a philanthropist! this year already i have given over 1500 to 5 orgs.
d) more giving comes from individual donors than foundations or corporations
e) we need to OWN our own liberation and not depend on capitalist enterprise to fund social change.

i connected with some interesting folks. and had some compelling conversations about the impact that public allies alum are having and could have. one thing of interest i found was that at this event, in the context of mostly community organizers i felt (either because of my own self consciousness or because of the quizzical looks following my introduction of name and employer) obligated to explain what working in public education has to do with social change. this seems odd since there is an education for liberation conference going on right now that many of the same people will be attending...but still, i followed with "I'm doing this because i want to connect students studying architecture and construction in their schools to neighborhood redevelopment corporations in the same community so that students can become engaged in the physical redevelopment of their communities...eventually, i'd like to work with youth to start a youth-advised-oriented development corporation that designs + builds affordable housing in re-developing areas." i don't know, maybe i was telling myself as much as telling others what my purpose is and how its related to the grassroots struggle. education is as much an empowerment issue as any other, employment is not just about capitalism but about empowerment too...we can talk about all the social justice we want but if people don't have jobs and aren't able to put food on the table...its hard to get people to hear what you're talking about...and housing. whoa. one of THE most critical issues. i was even listening to a program about ending violence against women and girls and it was noted that the SINGLE most important factor in a woman or girl exiting protitution is access to but safe and affordable housing. that really hit me. not trying to get off on a tangent but its true...as activists we cant just take the outsider approach to everything. we have to work both within existing systems+institutions+policies to push agendas of change as well as outside those paradigms. we also have to invest in our own issues...and not just with time.

archecamp

2007-06-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

so. i have to do an "externship" for work in my program areas of architecture, construction so i'm thinking of doing this...inaugural design/build archecamp that archeworks does. its going to be led by Randy Kober of anarchitectures. looks like good times. it results in a small structure installed at franconia sculpture park in minnesota. if you care to join, i hope to see you there!

so late...

2007-06-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

i know. i'm totally getting my blogging card revoked for endless stagnation. well whatever i'm back for at least a moment!

pecha kucha was friggin AWESOME. i presented the typology for 'direct action activist architecture' that i did during thesis and am writing a chapter on for a book on placemaking forthcoming from Dr. Sharon Sutton and Dr. Susan Kemp. Martyrs turned out to be a great venue. the crowd was very supportive. food and drinks were abound so it was a chill atmosphere...and my sweaty palms and nausea prior were totally uneccessary. the tech guy from visualized concepts was AMAZING (and just announced to me today that I was too creative to be administrating..i think that was a compliment.ha!)...presentations were diverse and transdisciplinary which allowed for never a dull moment. my favorites from the group were:

mark teer, who presented an installation/performance piece with this 'apparatus' that responded to the body's movements (sorry I know I'm butchering that description) but it was quite lovely and innovative.

cody hudson, who of course andres was enthralled in and schooled me on prior to the event because he so enjoys this genre of artwork. my favorite project was one where he used a conglomerate of images of signage from various communities into a new composition and titled them by zip code. i totally want to see if he did one from my hood. not likely because its LITERALLY the hood but hey i might ask.

peter exley, who's work as i mentioned before i very much appreciate and admire. mostly because i think that A) design for children is a critical need area...speaking as an employee of the public school system, as a parent and also from I guess someone who is sensitive to environmental psychology issuesa. B) design for children is so often obnoxious and "dumbed" down as if children are idiots. he and his partner do it in a sophisticated way that is both child appropriate and adult friendly as well.

a guy who's name escapes me because he was added last minute (maybe his last name was BEER?...no seriously this is not the liquor talking) but who had a VERY compelling project proposal on the israeli|palestinian border and then of course...

mark dytham which i was most stricken by the pet architecture-esque "billboard" building and the heidi house (built for 200,000). This in particular because I spent the last week or so ago totally engrossed in a grant proposal to the state for a design|build and dual credit program for arch and construction students in which they would design and build a house and get a certificate from a local trade school for carpentry. i'm interested in how to do this with compelling design but affordably. looks like so far the dual credit is most fundable but i will continue to seek funding sources and inkind opportunities to make this happen.

on another note, how sad am i that i am not in NewO right now for what I'm guessing is going to be a conference of all conferences ADPSR, ACD, Planners Network etc. we REALLY wanted to make it down...however between kindergarten graduation (YAY!!!) and the end of the school year at CPS AND the opening events of the Newhouse highschool architecture competition which is managed by the Chicago Architecture Foundation (and their ROCKSTAR education specialist Krisann Rehbein) but ultilizes students from the city-wide architecture and construction programs that i oversee...it just wasn't going to happen. If you're in Chicago though go check out in particular the 25th anniversary exhibit in which there are 25 stories of alumni from this program who have ended up working in architecture...this is 25 out of hundreds. This program is becoming more and more progressive and I am so excited to see where it goes from here.

pecha who? pecha what?

2007-04-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

PECHA KUCHA! So how mystical is it that my beloved hubster was just explaining to me the concept of Pecha Kucha last week...and then today I get an invitation to present at the inaugural Chicago Pecha Kucha night on May 29th! I am beyond excited...and totally honored that someone thought of me. I'm further delighted that the "someone" is Peter Exley of Architecture is Fun! I've totally admired their work, both from the design standpoint (children's environments), philosophy (mixing architecture + education), and at least at surface level their business model...the whole husband-wife team, doing what you love, making a difference...complete package. love it. and can't wait for pecha kucha!

Green Carnival

2007-04-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

I met with a class of students a week or more ago at the School of the Art Institute. This particular class is working on sustainability in arts education and community development. They are working with an elementary school in East Garfield Park (a rapidly gentrifying area on the west side of chicago) on a variety of projects. the one they wanted to involve me in is installing a green roof at an elementary school...I hope to get some horticulture students involved in the project as I try to make the case for building a landscape architecture arm of the programs i work with. anyway...the conversation stretched into doing other environmentally based and quasi architectural interventions...like a solar energy collecting pavillion housing a marketplace etc. the students interested in this were discouraged by some potential partners about doing permanent structures on 'vacant' land. apart from encouraging them to be creative with the idea of what a structure is and what permanence is...i mentioned to them an idea that at one time considered fleshing out in a thesis...which was the idea of the carnival. what better precedent is there for a temporary, structurally rigorous, socially magnetic spectacle in communities??? and in chicago...its usually low-income communities of color on a vacant lot, or in a large park. i walked way dreaming about this "green carnival"...what about taking those same concepts and making them meaningful in an environmental or social awareness way. i left it at that...as i'd totally love to explore that idea further in my own creative practice! But it was an exciting and refreshing experience. i got to talking to them and was reminded of how thrilling it can be in academia. having that space to dream is often not afforded in the "real world"...it reminded me of how important to me it is to hold on to dreaming and imagining something new but also not stopping at the idea or the theory...but taking that next step of putting it into practice....which is truly the hard part. balancing your "creative ideas" with the reality and buy in of stakeholders and the relevance to real world concerns...apart from just scope+scale+budget. i've long been wrestling for next steps on "building out" my thesis typology...where, with whom...for what express purpose etc. its very important to me to not just leave it at the paper stage...but to also go about it a not so "academic" way.

The student's projects in particular did not send me into my following thought process, but in wrestling with the issues and circumstances of these types of projects...i also later began to ponder why it is that for some reason "community" for many people has become synonymous with "poor or underserved neighborhood". similarly as, "inner-city" or"urban youth" is a euphemism for poor youth of color...when i always thought urban...was just a literally a descriptor for "city". i would love it if we could start recognizing that "community based" work isn't just important for impoverished or gentrifying neighborhoods...or for people who supposedly "who don't know better"...this to me puts a different spin on the issue of empowerment through design...

NOMA meet ACE

2007-04-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

There is a program called ACE which we (Chicago Public Schools) partner with to try to get students to participate. This year 90 of our students participated in once weekly afterschool mentorship with professional mentors from some of the biggest and best architecture, construction and engineering firms. these firms range from Turner construction, Bovis Lend Lease, Perkins + Wil, OWPP etc. I went to their final presentation a week or so and was blown away by the quality of work. This year the 5 teams worked on a master plan for the olympic village if chicago were to be chosen. These presentations were complete with physical models, 3-D models, analysis, drafted drawings etc. ACE holds an annual luncheon to raise funds for scholarships for the youth that participate and the participating firms often offer internships to students over the summer. I was so impressed by the work that this organization is doing....and I couldn't help but wonder...why an organization like NOMA doesn't have something like this. Maybe they do and I just don't know about it. But this seems to be a key factor in increasing the interest of students of color in architecture...hands on experience, personal relationships and tangible rewards (dollars for education and employment). There's no reason for 'us' to be complaining about underrepresentation in the profession if 'we' aren't doing anything about it. i'm making it my business to try to connect with NOMA on this and further more, the AIA diversity committee when those nominations come around again this summer!

more on architect magazine

2007-04-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

i got this email today from a guy named kole pointing me to his audio blog where he talks about the article...and my mistake in particular of pointing them to my blog where i talk in depth in a post or two about the issues related to diversity in architecture. i hereby apologize to black women architects everywhere for not representing aiight? i agree that it was a mistake to point them to the blog but i thought i had some articulate solutions in those posts...including, exposure, mentorship and funding how would i know they were going to spin it into "complaining" and not mention all of the positive things i said in my interview? i share his criticism of the magazine for not including more 'facts', perhaps a historical vantage point (who was the first black woman licensed?), or completely overlooking organizations such as NOMA. i have to tell you that something positive has come out of this in that, i have made some connections with people that i didn't know before. one example is, a black woman that works for chicago public schools in the capital improvements department contacted me after reading the article and i went to visit her and found like 4 other black architects! she related to the difficulty in speaking both pro architecture and also speaking honestly about some of the difficulties that women and people of color face. i hope to interview her and post some of her experience here. i am also happy to connect with others that have emailed, like kole and len. if the article got dialogue going...maybe its not so bad. i dunno.

the flavor of the month it seems...

2007-03-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

more on Black women in architecture...in the AIA newsletter, brought to my attention by HAPE.

i sort of thought the other article would be more in this kind of format...lovely interviews.

archis

2007-03-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

ran across this gem of statement in the recent "Talking Cities: The Micropolitics of Urban Space" monograph/mag and linked to archis.org :

"Don't ask what architecture can build for you; ask what it can do for you.

Don't wonder where you can find a client; ask where you are needed.

Don't cover architecture; discover it.

Architecture beyond Architecture:

Think about situations and opportunities that nobody has yet thought of.

Think about an architecture that would no longer respond simply to what is given: an architecture that would not be reactionary but actively pursue it challenges.

Think about moments when architecture can make a difference, even without clients, a budget or specific locations; by intervening with decisive concepts and powerful scenarios to shift deadlocked discourse and role play.

Think about architecture as a strategic intelligence, a medium for developing cultural concepts, a mode of thinking, a tactic for social intervention, a strategy to mitigate conflict-a weapon to fight a battle, a metaphor for the rest of the world.

Think about an architecture liberated from building.

Now go practice unsolicited architecture. "

That's statement that gets my blood pumpin....might have to make it a mantra =). There are a number of other great articles including one on itenerant architecture and one on the detroit collaborative design center...definitely worth the 19 bucks. pick it up.

actually...

2007-03-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

so, i just got my own copies of the magazine. i actually don't think its so bad. i've heard from about 3 people who have described it as "bitter-sounding", "nothing-good was intended to come from it" and that it comes off as "screw the 'white male establishment'...but upon a second read...i guess i don't think so. i think its a grim statistic and thusly the article is a little grim. i mean, there are some pretty tripped out statements even in the editors statement that reads "most firms are committed to diversification even if it is to avoid a law suit." (wtf is that?!) but i don't think it was a strategic plot to make black women seem whiney and anti-establishment....i just think the article just falls short of outlining solutions. It also would have been interesting to widen this discussion beyond JUST Black women, as it does kind of seem like 'its a personal problem' and not that there are some sytemic things that are problematic period. Its kind of like the idea that racism isn't just of concern to people of color...it should be of concern to any human. But yeah, i would have like to have seen some actual statistics of how long it takes to licensure for your average person and average salaries instead of just saying my statements are 'complaints' rather than statements of reality. i mean, the fact that my law school counterpart is going to spend the same 3 years that I spent in architecture school and come out and make 3 times what I would make as an intern architect is plain wrong. by the same token...i'm not just concerned about money either...but the ability to do public+environmental good in my profession....i guess that's a concern with any profession. anyway, i talked to the managing editor who wrote the story and she said she was initially alotted a page for this...so i guess in that context it is a closer look than what was initially intended...its just that is such a deep issue that there could have been an entire magazine about it!=) it does still suck that she didn't take my direct quotes from my INTERVIEW instead of my blog which is a more informal source...my husband just got around to reading it and said the way my quotes were placed made me sound incoherent and like an asshole. i dunno...for that reason, i'll still submit my letter to the editor because i actually am not an ass and quite articulate most times.... i would be interested to know what the other women in the article thought about it though.

Architect Magazine

2007-03-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

UMMMMMMMMMMMM.....I was interviewed by Architect magazine in their most recent issue about the underrepresentation of Black women in architecture . Wow.I am SO very disappointed in the choice of quotes. They didn't mention anything I said in my email interview, only my blog, and even from my blog entries that i referred them to (apparently a bad move and duly noted), they didn't mention any of the solutions I mentioned to the atrocious underrepresentation of people of color in the field. Nor did the article mention how my present position positively impacts the profession by preparing young people of color to be ,architects and builders with an environmental and social conscious. I specifically asked to view the article before it went to print and wasnt granted that request. I will be writing a letter to the editor and I hope for my sake (personally and professionally) that it is published. I really feel like I was represented in an unbalanced way in the article and I want to take this opportunity to respond. I do not apologize, nor am I embarrassed by my criticisms of the profession, but I wish that my dedication to righting the wrongs of the profession was more apparent. Instead words like, "complained" and "decried" are used to describe non contextual quotes and according to my friend and colleague who saw it before me...(yeah you would think they'd send a copy???)...i sound 'bitter' and like a 'rabble rouser'. i don't so much mind rabble rousing as long as its for something meaningful and transformative...which I think is what I'm engaged in.

Here is the exact text of my responses to interview questions

First, the basics...
Your age: 29

Architecture school:
University of Washington

When graduated:2006

Experience in the field:

total of one year (2 internships...one at Environmental Works and the other with a one woman architect Donna Brown AIA.

Your job now:

I manage the high-school architecture + construction education programs in the Chicago Public Schools. I work with 60 teachers who serve over 6,000 students on delivery and development of careertechnical education + partnerships within these fields. (http://www.etcchchicago.com/) The architecture program operates from a new curriculum partnership with the Chicago Architecture Foundation which focuses on green architecture (http://www.architecture.org/hscurriculum.html)

What made you interested in studying architecture?

Aside from my aesthetic appreciation of the built environment, my fascination with human intervention in the landscape, and (the problem with )privatization of public space...I entered architecture school as a speculative endeavor. My previous experience in social justice work and community based public art practice led me to wondering how to combine the two in order to use architecture in a subversive way to impact social change. My contention about architecture began with my assumption that the tools and practice of architecture are diverse and complex: Architecture is not limited to creating residential and commercial objects for consumption and thusly, the practice of architecture can also operate as a catalyst for new power relations.

What made you decide not to pursue a career in the field?

I haven't sworn it off for good. If the right opportunity comes along to do work that I believe in, is not wasteful and benefits the masses, and not just the elite...I'd at least consider it. However, this particular time in my life with the atrocious underrepresentation of people of color in the 'profession', I feel my time is better spent cultivating a new generation of architects and builders who will be skilled and experienced innovators with a social and environmental conscious. My priorities at this point are:

A) Educating and Exposing students of color to the breadth, scope and hands-on experience of design and building.

B)Exploring a creative practice that pushes the boundaries of what people traditionally define architecture to be toward something that is relevant to people who need it and not just those who can afford it.

Do you think there are problems endemic in the field that discourage architecture school graduates--and black women graduates in particular--from becoming licensed?

see this blog entries 7.22.2005 and 7.05.2005 one of which links to an archinect discussion which i commented on regarding parenting and architecture (I have two children 5+10mos.)...but basically I think the issues are exposure, mentorship, the convoluted and long path to licensure and the expense...both fiscally and personally. let me know if you need more information after looking at those blog entries.

(the other entry links to my response to the diversity study by the AIA from 2005...mentioned in the article)

7.22.2005

AIA diversity
the other day i sat for a 45 minute phone interview with a firm who is conducting a survey for the national AIA on the profound diversity issue within the profession. the woman conducting the interview was particularly stricken by the 1% of licensed african-american architects which has not changed in 30-40 years...also by the number of women in architecture school (usually 50/50) and the # of licensed women architects which also has a huge discrepancy. there were numerous questions but the final one was this:

what are the major inhibitors/barriers to people of color? (african-american in particular since she was focusing on my experiece and perspective) students/practioners in architecture and what can be done to resolve this issue.

my answer: major money and energy needs to be put into: early exposure to architecture in secondary and presecondary education to cultivate the interest and love of architecture, funding for students of color in the post secondary education process and MENTORSHIP like nobody's business.

a) exposure: given the percentages of architects of color, you are less likely to come in contact with an architect of color as a young person of color. your uncle, grandmother, cousin is not likely to be an architect. schools don't neccessarily promote architecture as a profession to pursue. for most people the main professions youth know about are: doctor, lawyer...maybe engineer. then there's teachers, law enforcement etc. etc.

b) funding/support:this is expensive! usually, if there are any, the grants, fellowships, scholarhips, assistantships are few and far between....let alone support in particular for the retention students of color. many students of color (and other students with financially challenging backgrounds) have to work and go to school. architecture isn't really something that can be done part time...and working and going to architecture school is brutal. i'm not saying some people can't make it work...i know many who do but its one more factor that makes it hard.

c) mentorship:the architectural education process is long and arduous. if you don't have someone rooting for you and pushing you it can be easy to give up. how many faculty of color are there? are professionals reaching out to students? as professionals are seasoned professionals reaching back to the newer generation?

d) payoff: the education, internship and licensure process in general is long as hell. and the resulting salaries are crazy LOW compared to the other "professions". for many people of color picking a career path usually is without the priveledge of "doing something you love"...conversely it is directly related to transcending financial struggle. those who don't have that financial struggle i think still are looking for a certain level of prestige that architecture doesn't offer.

Do you have a picture you could send me?

hmmmm. i'll have to track down a picture...the only pictures i have of myself are ones with kids in them! i'll try to get you something tomorrow...whats your deadline?

okay my bad for sending the picture that they published which in context with the others looks like I'm on CRACK....

BUT I ALSO SENT THIS ONE.

"water is the new oil"

2007-02-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

a friend just mentioned this eco boulevard thing to me from urbanlab...i'm late, but its still a cool proposal flipping thru all the slides =).

cwit

2007-02-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

so i met a woman today at chicago women in trades who made 76.50 an hour. she was a structural ironworker and seriously made me think i was an the wrong line of work! i always was kind of feeling the ornamental ironwork thing...i mean, i know structural is different...she's currently working on a cantilever at o'hare airport. but still! anyway, i was at CWIT as a part of 4 summits that they do for the young women in our construction programs who are thinking about following through with apprencticeships post-secondary education. it was so inspiring to be around this group of people. when i was in high school i kept thinking i wanted to be a carpenter (those of you who have seen my model making skills will get a good laugh outta that one!) but there wasn't really anyone who could point me in the right direction to seriously pursue that. i look at these girls and they have so many options. really good ones too. i met one woman who, besides being hot (!!) was a kick butt bricklayer! she said, hey, i get paid a LOT of money to get a tan and work out! i never thought of it that way! the great thing was the diversity in tradeswomen there. they were short, tall, brown, white, thin, thick, femme and not so femme...they represented laborers, brick layers, electricians, pipe fitters and iron workers to name a few. what a meaningful thing for these girls to see that they can be whoever they are and still pursue a career in construction.

i was really bummed though that there were only 3 of 7 schools represented in attendance. it made me wonder whether the shop teachers who blew it off did so because it was women centered....talk about unacceptable.

activist arch+chicago freedom school?

2007-01-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

wow. this is totally ridiculous. this long and not posting. i don't really have a great excuse besides being totally consumed by life and barely able to process it as its coming at me! i've been balancing the intensity of my job, with my internal wrestling match over how to survive from a fiscal standpoint but also not lose my practical and theoretical architectural dreams. one thing i've just decided, and i'm not sure how i'm going to do this with my "9-5" but, i'm going to apply to teach a class through the chicago freedom school this summer. i'm going to base it on my 'activist architecture' thesis and make it a hands-on work shop on where architecture and activism intersect and action based research on how to make it work! we'll see what comes of it.

new role

2006-11-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

so, in the way of updates, I should mention that Monday I am beginning a new position, managing all of the architecture, construction, and agriculture education programs in the chicago public schools office of high school programs education to careers department. I am pretty bummed about leaving the classroom because of my rockstar students. However, I am pretty friggin ecstatic about being able to impact all of the programs city-wide.

All high school design competition

2006-11-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

Project Osmosis Design competition more here: Osmosis Mentoring Initiative

looking for architectural educators

2006-11-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

ATTENTION:

The Chicago Public School System is trying to identify candidates for teaching positions at the high school level. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me by email (yamanihernandez@yahoo.com) with a resume (so I can pass it on), or questions about salary and other details. Some of which include a 6.5 hour work day, competitive benefits (including pension),summers off, and of course school holidays in addition to sick and personal days + an exciting curriculum which is getting national recognition. It is important to find people with architectural education and work experience. These positions are especially critical in reaching students of color and inspiring them to pursue architectural education at the post-secondary level and eventually the profession....and closing the gap of representation in the field. i look forward to hearing from you. candidates must have 2000hrs of relevant work experience to qualify for the the required type 34 provisional certification.

a few things

2006-10-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

grant opportunity for architecture education. more here:American Architectural Foundation

jane jacobs fellowship which has been well circulated but still...Jane Jacobs Fellowship opportunity in New Orleans:

Inaugural fellowship will place a young architect within a non-profit agency to assist community residents. The Center for the Living City at Purchase College, in collaboration with ACORN Housing Corporation, Deutsche Bank, Pratt Institute Center for Community and Economic Development, Pratt Institute School of Architecture and The Center for Architecture Foundation, is seeking applicants for a one-year architectural fellowship in New Orleans. The fellowship is the first in an ongoing Jane Jacobs Fellowship Program of the Center. Fellowships will be created for individuals to engage city building processes of critical importance in maintaining or regaining the strength of cities. Fellowships will occur across disciplines and will address the complex, interconnected problems facing cities around the world. Established in 2005 in collaboration with the late Jane Jacobs, the Center for the Living City develops symposia, exhibitions, training programs, fellowships, internships, workshops and publications that approach city building issues using thoughtful, collaborative, participatory and transdisciplinary processes. Interested applicants must be graduates of an accredited architecture program and possess at minimum a professional degree in Architecture.If not already a resident, the successful applicant will need to relocate to New Orleans for a minimum of one year and be prepared to begin the fellowship within 30 days of selection.

The fellowship provides a salary of $40,000, plus benefits. Applications are due November 13, 2006. For further information and to request an application, please send an e-mail to Stephen Goldsmith at stgoldsmith@gmail.com.

this weekend

2006-10-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

i attempt to emerge from under my rock...

-Place Matters conference in Seattle (exhibiting thesis work)

-Critical Practices in a Globalizing World (also in seattle) David Adjaye's on the ticket so i'm guessing its gonna be good.

frantically cramming to get in my app. for a 50K grant from the Education to Careers Department at Chicago Public Schools for a project my principal suggested...Redesigning the school library. I'm hoping to have my 'advanced' students work on this and get employed this summer doing the build out of the space.

more about my rock:
97 students (5 classes), most quite delightful, i am always stricken by the depth of some of their personal issues and wish i had more than my 40 minutes of class time per day. the beauracracy of the public system is crazy but the curriculum is exciting, and there is a lot of hope. we've got a great principal. he raised the issue of redesigning the library. this would be an awesome opportunity to involve students in a real-life project. i hope to get them paid this summer to help with the build out of the space. i also got wind of this fairchild challenge thing through the chicago botanic gardens...there is a challenge to redesign cafeteria based on LEED standards...which seems like yet another way to make design relevant to their everyday experience. my classes are underenrolled so, i've got to find as many opportunities as possible to attract students to the program.

critical art ensemble

2006-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

interesting org...

...and can the choir say amen!

2006-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

a new architecture department website for UW

1 week down...

2006-09-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

so week 2 of teaching is almost over. i've got 5 classes. i thought they would be in nice neat packages...like sophomores in architecture 1, juniors in architecture 2 and seniors in architecture 3. but i've got only one architecture 1 class and it has students from 9-12 in it. then i've got three drafting orientation which is the precursor to architecture 1 and i am told should be used as a selling tool to get students interested in taking the entire sequence of architecture courses. then i have 8 advanced architecture students 3 of which are in a class alone. the other 5 are stuffed into my architecture 1 and drafting orientation classes. bummer for them, i'm trying to get this changed. its interesting, most of the drafting orientation students are itching to get on the computer, but i'm making them start by hand. the CAF curriculum for the arch 1 students encourages use of CAD, and i figure if they are going to spend 3years using CAD, what's the harm in starting to learn by hand? i feel like they can appreciate the benefit of the computer better by seeing what it is like by hand. also it seems there is more of a connection to what they are drawing.

being a new teacher is sort of like being a freshman. you don't know where to go for things and nobody tells you anything. you sort of have to learn the hard way. i know its just the first week of school but so far i like my students and for the most part they seem to like me...with a few exceptions of course =).i'm amazed that some of these students leave here and go to work for upto 6hours a day! thats as much time as they spend in school! there is a lot of bearacracy with the school system that it will take time for me to get used to....but luckily most paperwork can be submitted online.

the intuit teacher fellowship i got starts on the 30th...so i'm looking forward to that...incorporating the work of creative visionary environments, also known as obsessive places (read watts towers etc.) into my curricula is an exciting idea. i think i will have the most latitude in the drafting orientation classes for this. but i also hope to connect it to the chicago conservation club work on environmental action and art...use of recycled materials etc.

massive change opens this weekend. can't wait to check it out!

oh and my sissy started a blog about her journey through urban disaster research.

my classroom...

2006-08-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

27 computers and 20 drafting tables...a little congested no?

urban green project

2006-08-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

clients of john joyce architects (by whom my dh has been employed by outside of SAIC) set up this site to document the progress on their "green" home project. i especially like that they've included a blog component to more personally illustrate the day to day experience for people considering building a green home either from scratch or adapting an older building as such.

ready, set, go...

2006-08-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

school starts next week for me...prep anyway...with students coming after labor day. as i'm trying to get my mind and materials right for the year, i am pleased that the first year of the architecture curriculum i'll be teaching is based on a case study of the F10 house, an exemplary green/environmentally sustainable residential building on the north west-side of chicago. i'm sooooo excited! also looking through how thoughtful the curriculum is...i am grateful to the architects and educators that put so much work into it. i am excited to supplement with other examples like the ehouse 2000 etc.

massive post

2006-08-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook entries from the massive change teacher institute:

the massive change teacher institute at the MCA.... the show doesn't open until september but 24 teachers got together to learn about sustainability and social action in order to start after school clubs at schoool funded by the chicago conservation corps first got an overview from a person who was in the Institute without Boundaries

the economies:

i was really inspired by their manifesto in terms of design economies...

urban: we will create urban shelter for the entire world population
movement: we will enable sustainable mobility
energy: we will bring energy to the entire world
image: we will make visible the as yet invisible
information: we will build a global mind
market: we will seamlessly integrate supply and demand around the world
material: we will build intelligence into materials and liberate form from matter
military: will we shift from the service of war to the service of life? (peace?)
manufacturing: we will eliminate the need for raw material and banish all waste.
living: we will design evolution
wealth and politics: we will eradicate poverty

however they lost me with the design evolution one, the one illustrated by a featherless chicken, man! it was about using our technology totally efficiently. for instance if chicken feathers are a problem in factory farms because of disease and air conditioning needs, maybe we should just breed the feathers out. wtf? seems like an odd priority. over eliminating factory farming or promoting not eating them period since you can feed more people on a vegetarian diet than not.

some highlights from the institute were...
harvesting out lunch atCity farm and shopping for recycled materials at the creative re-use warehouse of the Resource Center
Organic Food
silk screening posters mike bancroft of coop image
a tour of the 11 landfills on the far south east side of the city...South Eastern Environmental Task Force
I had a great conversation with Josh MacPhee of radical poster art/history/documentatio organizationjust seeds about my thesis. i'm going to take his suggestion and make a little artist book of my typology and try to distribute it to quimby's or something if they'll have it.

with my C3 (Chicago Conservation Club or Conservation Changemaker Club) I hope to work with my students to design and build a rain catchment system for the school thats a little more interesting than your average plastic rain barrels. we'll see what happens =).

oh and on an unrelated note, i see that association for community design has a new website!

Civic Footprint

2006-08-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

if you need to know your political geography and you live in cook county, check out: Civic Footprint

a 'massive' post is on its way from the massive change teacher institute i've been participating in over the past 2 weeks. sketchbook inquiries, reflection on chicago conservation corps training, revelations on sustainability, useful links etc.

Green the Ghetto!

2006-08-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Mad Architect just hipped me to this org in NY. i'm definitely going to support by buying a green the ghetto t-shirt!

in 2006

2006-07-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

perhaps off blog topic but mindboggling none the less. yesterday while walking from the parking lot of an oak park sherwin williams to the store in order to get some spray paint...baby in tow and holding my other son's hand...a car of guys drove by and one yelled, "you 16yr old nigger mother!" and sped off. wow. its 2006. wtf.

blender bike tomorrow

2006-07-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

laurie palmer is bringing the blender bike tomorrow...and then we are headed to redmoon's balloon man spectacle in millenium park. the summer art project has been a bit of a roller coaster so i'm hoping that it will be an exciting and positive start to the week...especially since i'm coming off an extremely emotional weekend in st.louis for the death of my grandfather. a man with a lot of heart who will be sorely missed.

lead pencil studio

2006-07-20T22:44:00.001-07:00

does it again info cortesy of AB

Future AIA President Discusses Race and Architecture

2006-07-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

check it out

Benefit

2006-07-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

if you're looking for some good charitable events to attend here's a couple i'm headed to this week...

Wednesday July 12 Jewels in July for archi-treasures at Garfield Conservatory.6-10pm

"...amid the lush greenery of Horticultural Hall at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Sip jeweled martinis in the Monet Garden, sway to the rhythms of Le Bands Sans Fin, sample delicious fare from Chicago’s emerging chefs, and indulge in a silent auction showcasing art, dinners, theatre tickets and more. Join us as we reminisce, embrace, and look toward another ten years of [design based] community building"

Friday July 14th Osmosis Mentoring Initiative at little black pearl art and design center.

humboldt

2006-07-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

this is the wind turbine and solar panel inspiring our public art work @ humboldt park

and this is an example of the journals we made out of recycled materials with the youth in the program this week.

For this week, we are starting off with the story of the Lorax, visiting the library and having them uncover definitions to sustainable concepts and asking them to develop stories around them, we are showing andy goldsworthy rivers and tides video, participating in the you are beautful installation project and creating mobiles out of found/collected materials to install as an art walk tour of humboldt.

Urban Sustainable Design Studio--Summer 2006

2006-07-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

darnit missed it for this summer but i'll definitely be trying to check this out this Urban Sustainable Design Studio for next summer.