On September 14, 2017, PennDesign students gathered to discuss and share their experiences, passions, and questions about community-engaged design. As PennPraxis kicks off its Year of Community Engaged Design, the student-led conversation allowed students’ voices to lead a school-wide conversation about topics increasingly-relevant to students and faculty at PennDesign and the design industry as a whole.
The event was coordinated by four current PennDesign students who had participated in Design Futures, an annual conference that gathers students and faculty to discuss public-interest design. The students wished to bring a similar conversation back to PennDesign, and thus the idea for “manifestos” was born.
Nine additional students and recent alumni gave short presentations and shared candidly about their summer internships, travel, and experience with PennPraxis’ Social Impact Projects grant program, which gives small grants to multi-disciplinary student groups working with community organizations to further a socially-driven objective.
Following the presentations, student presenters and those in the audience discussed topics including: 1) Power, Privilege and Positionality; 2) Designing for Justice; 3) Radical Inclusion; and 4) Design with and Against Capitalism. The conversation was a unique and fresh opportunity for PennDesign students to confront such issues that confront design professionals, and are not often covered comprehensively in curriculum.
PennPraxis is currently fundraising to support this and similar programs, such as fellowships, seminars, and studios that further the objectives of extending our projects and curriculum outside of the classroom and into the community. Please contact managing director Julie Donofrio for further information.
Student Participants: Darcy Anders, Zoe Axelrod, Libby Bland, Kat Engelman, Nikita Jathan, Joanna Joye, Allison Koll, Cari Krol, Laura Rigell, Daniel Silverman, Moya Sun, Sarai Williams
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