Architecture of Black Life brings together artists and scholars to meditate on the ways that Black people have found ways to commune and the architectures that they must navigate. Critical connections have been made that link the violent formations of the sugar and cotton plantations, to the restrictions on Black communities formed during Reconstruction, to surveillance in the prison industrial complex and the impacts of redlining and Black, low-income housing projects. Groups such as the Black Reconstruction Collective and BlackSpace Urbanist Collective are interrogating these interlinked histories and the continued forms of architectural violence against Black people, recognizing this as an opportunity to speculate and re-envision Black life outside of captivity. With a particular focus on Chicago spaces, we will investigate how we can conceive of architectural forms that affirm Black life with Faheem Majeed, Interim Director of Arts +  Public life and author of Black Skyscraper, Adrienne Brown, author of Darkspace, Mario Gooden, and architect and artist, Amanda Williams. 

Register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/architecture-and-black-lives-tickets-151991032269

Zoom Link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89042352844

This event is presented as part of Art Design Chicago Now, an initiative funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art that amplifies the voices of Chicago’s diverse creatives, past and present, and explores the essential role they play in shaping the now.

Generous support for this exhibition is also provided by the Host Committee led by Jack & Sandra Guthman, Cynthia Heusing & David Kistenbroker, and Eric & Cheryl McKissack and include contributions from John Ellis, Julie Marie Lemon & Heinrich Jaeger, Cheryl & Thomas Rudbeck, and Freddye Smith.