Janelle Johnson (MLA '10), Michelle Lin (MLA/MCP '11), Matthew Soule (MLA '09), Win the 2009 ASLA Communications Honor Award

University of Pennsylvania
Adviser: Amy Hillier

Initiated in 2006, Unspoken Borders is an annual conference that explores the relationship among race, class, and space. This student-produced publication documents the 2009 conference. Among the issues confronted is the question of social inequality in museum presentations, as exemplified by typical public presentation of African arts. Intended for an audience including design students and professionals, the publication also offers relevant information for policy makers, social scientists, activists, and environmentalists. Marketing and distribution have been a student-led, grassroots enterprise, with web-based networks and Listservs prominently featured. Jurors praised the intellectual gravity of the work, calling it "an impressive achievement."