Curious Story Lab

Michelle Wilkinson: Reshaping Culture

Episode Summary

"Curious Story Lab" is a podcast that explores visionaries' of color working to reshape the future of our world. In this season, we explore the concept of "Futuring," delving deep into the stories of creators whose work shifts the narrative around design in the present and offers a glimpse into the future of their field.

Episode Notes

In Part 1 of episode 5, Reshaping Culture, I’m talking with Michelle Wilkinson, curator of Architecture and Design at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. She talks about why it’s essential for the museum to preserve Black Design History and why she has taken on building out this collection of work by key Black Architects and Designers.

Building off preserving Architectural Design, Culture, and history in 2018, Michelle organized the museum’s three-day symposium, “Shifting the Landscape: Black Architects and Planners, 1968 to Now.” Then from 2019-2020, she was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design, which provided an opportunity to expand upon her research on preserving Black Architecture and Design. 

We also talk about what led her to seek out the work of Michael Puryear’s Dan chair, which is now part of the collection that Michelle is helping to build. 

Find more on Curious Story Lab
Website: Curiousstorylab.com
Twitter: @curiousstorylab
Instagram: @curiousstorylab
Email me: curiousstory21@gmail.com
Credits:
Creator & Host: Michele Y. Washington
Producer: Alicia Ajayi @aliciaoajayi
Editor: Angelina Bruno
Sound Engineer + Music: Roifield Brown

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For more information on the Smithsonian Institute African American Museum of History and Culture (NMAAHC)

Fellowship:
Loeb Fellowship

Writings:
Harvard Design Magazine
Race&Space

Symposiums/Talks: 
Shifting Landscape Black Architecture

Black in Design at Harvard 2017