The Wide Awakes

David Adjaye, SO-IL and BlackSpace Urbanist Collective are among the speakers who presented in the final part of The World Around summit, which was broadcast live on Dezeen. Watch the event above.

The session spotlighted designers, thinkers and artists who are grappling with some of the complex issues currently playing out in the US, including the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and race relations.

“Together [the speakers] explore how people can expand our understanding of this complex and divided country through positive, productive ideas and reclamation of civic spaces,” said The World Around founder and curator Beatrice Galilee.

Architect David Adjaye
Architect David Adjaye. Photography is by Chris Schwagga

Following an introduction by the Guggenheim museum‘s deputy director Cyra Levenson, BlackSpace Urbanist Collective shared their manifesto on working with black communities.

BlackSpace is an interdisciplinary collective of urban planners, architects and designers that work to bridge policy, people and place in to promote equity and justice in the built environment.

The organisation spoke about BlackSpace Manifesto, which was created as a guide for their work as urbanists working in and with communities.

RIBA Gold medal-winning architect David Adjaye shared the building process of his project Winter Park City Public Library in Florida.

Wide Awakes
Wide Awakes. Photography is by Benjamin Lozovsky

Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg of design studio SO-IL joined UCCA‘s Philip Tinari for a conversation on international art spaces.

Architects Deborah Berke and Jason Price discussed NXTHVN, a new national arts model that aims to empower emerging artists and curators of colour through education.

Activist-architect Deanna Van Buren spoke about the work of non-profit organisation Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, which investigates and reimagines the criminal justice system from a financial and racial standpoint.

Wide Awakes, an initiative by artist-led organisation For Freedoms, spoke about its campaign for greater visibility for civic justice and voting rights both within and outside of America.

Wide Awakes also hosted the final Town Hall session and conclude the World Around Summit 2021.

The World Around is an online non-profit organisation that works to bring together global perspectives on some of the most prominent issues of our time.

The summit marks the beginning of The World Around’s year-long residency at the Guggenheim museum.

This video was produced by Dezeen for The World Around as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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