An occasion organized by the Designer & # 39; s Workshop offers with visibility in design
The Designer & # 39; s Workshop is a collective founded by US-based interior designer Kamille Glenn with the goal of serving underrepresented young black designers and makers across a wide range of design disciplines.
Next week the collective is hosting an online event that brings together designers from different disciplines to improve visibility in the design world. Visibility X Dsgn will be hosted by Glenn, an associate interior designer of the Rockwell Group who has worked with clients such as the Hakkasan Group and Nobu, and Felema Yemaneberhan, the collective's strategic planning director who is with a background in interior design and architecture. Interviewers and presenters include Asad Syrkett, Editor-in-Chief at Elle Decor, fashion designer Chelsea Bravo and industrial designer Bradley Bowers.
"My mission with this community is to create it, to bridge the gaps between us and to create a safe, relatable space to educate and inspire us," Glenn told CR. Second, we have a mission to promote black business and entrepreneurship by raising awareness within our design concentrations: promoting inclusion and outside support within the design community, and challenge / support internally as a collective through programming. Black designers make up 3% of the design population; Makers, an even smaller faction – this is a necessary space that I want to serve. "
Chamomile Glenn
Felema Yemaneberhan
Glenn's efforts are underpinned by a desire to build links between disciplines and designers based on their own observations of the design world. “As I grew through design, the lack of representation shifted from a general concern to a nagging truth that I couldn't ignore. After I couldn't find any spaces to relate to, I decided to create my own – however, the interior and architecture sounded way too restrictive as a focus, ”she says. "If I don't know the black interior designer at another company, who says that the black shoe designer at Nike knows the black shoe designer at Adidas?" Or the one who decided to go alone? "
The virtual event takes place on February 18th and builds on the structure of physical events by taking a campus-inspired approach to conversations. The disciplines are grouped into camps: built (architecture, exhibition design, interior design, and more), clothing (including clothing and shoe design), and tactile (such as textile and packaging design). However, the discussions will also aim to bring together disciplines that are often viewed as unrelated or too different from one another, and to "have authentic conversations around the intersections to promote truly smarter spaces, products and experiences," Yemaneberhan said.
For Glenn, Visibility X Dsgn fulfills the needs of the community in a number of ways. “There are several reasons why it is important that there are not just events, but spaces that support black designers and our creativity. One of them is access – we don't have much. The design industry was not created for easy access, let alone access to minorities, ”she says. "Like many other manufacturers, I've found the industry severely constrained our processes and imaginations. From things that feel too 'ethnic' to outright disregard for our contributions. This event is curated for us. It's so important to give us the platform to have an uninterrupted dialogue, to be transparent and to heal. Especially in such a demanding area, design, although it is fulfilled, can be very exhausting. "
“Which rooms offer us the platform to express our challenges, needs, experiences or concerns? Are we really making progress in combating the (lack of) black visibility within the design screen? “Yemaneberhan adds. “Black designers are not valued or recognized for their creative contributions in the current status quo and seeking confirmation in the wrong places. More than ever, the spaces we live in and the objects we use need to be filled with one another. "
Click here to purchase tickets and find out more about Visibility X Dsgn, which will take place on February 18 starting at 7 p.m. EST. dsgnrswrkshp.com