Blackitecture: Architecture, and building Black spaces on the ground and in history

Join us for an in-person community conversation sponsored by The Black Metropolis Research Consortium, in partnership with the the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Chicago Public Library with Germane Barnes, a Chicago born architect.

With his current exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, Columnar Disorder, Barnes' pushes back against what we have been told is the history of classical Mediterranean architecture that centers Europe without mention of North Africa. He asks us to think about and to visualize how architecture can build Black spaces - based on Black experiences and values - on the ground and in history.

The conversation will take place at the Blackstone branch of the Chicago Public Library, the very first branch of the Chicago Public Library which opened in 1904, and whose own design is an example of how we continue to live with the legacy and fragments of classical architecture. The branch manager of the Blackstone, Marcus Lumpkin, will share how he has tried to reimagine the space in light the tension between its intent and the demographics of the patrons who frequent the library today.

What can we learn from the columns in Barnes’ exhibit that break the rules of classical architecture and what else can we build?

See you there!

Date: November 18, 2024
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Blackstone Branch CPL, 4904 S. Lake Park Avenue Chicago, IL 60615