Please Be Seated
January 26, 2024 | Reflection.017
Last Sunday, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) opened their latest exhibit. Please be Seated, open now through March 11th, “invites people to rethink the role of chairs in our lives.” The exhibition features furniture from well-known designers - classical to contemporary. And yes, these pieces were beautiful, playful, an absolute dream. However, Please be Seated and MODA did not stop there. A second exhibit invited local artists, designers, and community groups to get involved by exploring Shirley Chisholm’s quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Through the transformation of a stool, each group was asked to think how their chair (or stool) was a symbol of space, identity, and empowerment.
When Laura and the MODA team reached out in the second to last week of last year, I’ll admit I was simultaneously excited and apprehensive. It has been years since I have designed and created something that was not in Revit, for a proposal, a house project, or written. At the same time though, this was an opportunity and moment I could only say “yes” to. Recently, I have been seeing architects, architecture, and design recognized and celebrated beyond the walls of a firm or organizations embedded in the industry - the current Climate Change font exhibit at the High Museum, an exhibit on thinking about the future of our communities at the Carnegie Museum, Out Down South celebrating stories in a public and accessible to all space, even something like marching in the Atlanta Pride March. Art, architecture, design, shared spaces are coming together more than I can ever remember seeing and witnessing them. To have this opportunity with MODA, and for it to be an opportunity to bring visibility to LGBTQIA+ architects and designers? It was not just a yes, it was an emphatically and absolutely yes.
At the same time, I knew whatever this would become could not just stay with me. One of the greatest joys this last year has been figuring out how this space (and so many others) can share our stories - all of them. So just after the new year, I drafted an email that was sent to as many LGBTQIA+ design professionals as I had emails for. In doing this, I learned that Gmail does has a limit to how many addresses you can include..! Within minutes of pressing send, I had responses from folks all. over. In the two weeks between that first email and the exhibition opening, it was incredible to see and connect with so many who were visually sharing their stories.
So… This week’s blog. A visual blog and narrative to share our stories.
Past, Present, + Future: Witnessing LGBTQIA+ Stories to Build Equitable Futures
Past, Present, + Future: Witnessing LGBTQIA+ Stories to Build Equitable Futures celebrates and amplifies the work and stories of the LGBTQIA+ community - especially those in architecture and design - through visual storytelling.
Just as a stool is supported by its legs, the visual narratives seen on the legs of this stool celebrate LGBTQIA+ advocates, organizers, fighters, and champions of the past - both places and the people who have created the spaces and catalyzed change for LGBTQIA+ rights, visibility, and safety to be all that it is today.
Supported by the legs is the collaged tapestry of the present - images and phrases representing and bringing visibility to the LGBTQIA+ community both within and beyond design. These are our stories.
Centered on the seat of this stool is a sole mirror, inviting the viewer to both literally and figuratively reflect and look ahead to the future. In looking to the future, there is a moment and invitation to not only reflect on one’s own self, identity, community, and place, but on how each one of us is a part of creating and building a more equitable and inclusive future - together.
- - - -
Immense thanks from the very depths of my heart to each person who shared your story, for those who reached out and were interested, for those who checked in on how progress was going from afar, and to each of you reading this and witnessing the joy in our stories.
Please be Seated Contributors |
K Kaczmarek + Jake Minden - Designing Beyond the Binary | Andrew Grant Houston | Jason Hagopian + Neuvio Architects, Behar Font & Partners - The Pride Center at Equality Park | AIA Austin LGBTQIA+ Alliance | AIA New York LGBTQIA+ Alliance | AIA Georgia, Equity in Architecture LGBTQIA+ Alliance | AIA Dallas LGBTQIA+ Alliance | AIA Chicago LGBTQIA+ Alliance | Jon Gould + KSU 2023 Inclusive Design Lab | Jessika Nelson-Woynicz | Chris Daemmrich | Johnna Keller | A.L. Hu + Queeries | Heli Shah | Beau Frail + Activate Architecture | Abri Aiken + Disappearing Queer Spaces/Queer Harlem Walking Tour | Queer Soup Night DMV + My-Anh Nguyen | Out in Architecture |
