Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) conference
February 24–25, 2022
United States
June Jordan’s visionary practice reimagines the role of the built environment in creating just futures. Deeply committed to human rights and political activism, she used language to design a model for pedagogy and activism centered on ecology, care, and justice. While Jordan’s literary contributions reflect her work as a poet, author, teacher, and activist, what does it mean to call June Jordan an architect?
Architecture is a form of storytelling. Using words as a medium, Jordan proposed designs ranging from the townhouse-scale interventions in her book, His Own Where, to the urban-scale, collaborative vision of “Skyrise for Harlem.” In 1970, she was awarded the Rome Fellowship Prize in Environmental Design. At all scales, Jordan’s work invites us to challenge and redefine prevailing socio-spatial constructs towards dignified spaces for all communities.
The sixth Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) conference at the Princeton School of Architecture (SoA) honors the life and work of June Jordan, Jamaican-American activist and feminist. Her expansive practice and inventive pedagogy continues to illuminate the intersectional influences of race, gender, sexuality, and ecology on the built environment. Building on the recent scholarship of Jordan’s visual and literary imagination, the conference asks: how does the work of June Jordan pave the way for the future of architectural practice and pedagogy?
Viewing information
In-person attendance is limited to Princeton University ID holders and conference participants. A public live stream will be accessible via the WDA website.
Program schedule (EST)
Thursday, February 24
6pm
Welcome and introduction: Dean Monica Ponce de Leon
WDA introduction and land acknowledgement
Reading: “Poem for Nana”
Performances: Alexis Pauline Gumbs, poet, author, activist, and scholar / Yolanda Wisher, poet, singer, educator, and curator / Sapphire, author and performance poet
Discussion: Led by WDA Members Sophia Diodati, Jacqueline Mix, and Adrian Silva
Reading: “The Talking Back of Miss Valentine Jones: Poem # One”
Friday, February 25
10am
Welcome: Dean Monica Ponce de Leon
WDA introduction and land acknowledgement
Reading: “Poem for a Young Poet”
10:15am
Panel: “Intersectionality and Space”
Panel introduction and moderation: WDA Member Shoshana Torn and SoA Doctoral Student Ibiayi Briggs
Panelists: Charles L. Davis II, Associate Professor of Architectural History and Criticism, University at Buffalo / Ife Salema Vanable, architect, historian, and theorist, i/van/able / Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, author and artist; Associate Professor of English, Georgetown University
11:30am
Panel: “Ecology and Policy”
Panel introduction and moderation: WDA Members Patricia Hazle and Laura Fegely
Panelists: Cheryl J. Fish, environmental justice scholar, poet, and fiction writer / Davy Knittle, HMEI/Princeton Mellon Fellow in Architecture, Urbanism & the Environment / Brandi T. Summers, Assistant Professor of Geography and Global Metropolitan Studies, University of California, Berkeley / Rebecca Choi, architectural historian; Postdoctoral Fellow, ETHZürich; Visiting Lecturer, gta Institute
12:40pm
Lunch break
1:30pm
Reading: “Poem About My Rights”
1:35pm
Panel: “Designing Pedagogy”
Panel introduction and moderation: WDA Members Lisa Ramsburg and Rinna Jiang
Panelists: Conor Tomás Reed and Talia Shalev, (Conor) author; Faculty, Africana Studies and American Studies, Brooklyn College | (Talia) poet and scholar; Lecturer, Stevens Institute of Technology / V. Mitch McEwen, architect; co-founder of Atelier Office; Assistant Professor, Princeton University School of Architecture / Sophie Hochhäusl, Assistant Professor for Architectural History and Theory, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
2:40pm
Panel: ACTIVISM AND BUILDING FUTURES
Panel introduction and moderation: WDA Members Eunice Takahaye Slanwa and Priscilla Zhang
Panelists: Nijah Cunningham, author; Assistant Professor of English at Hunter College, CUNY / Erica R. Edwards, author; Associate Professor of English and Presidential Term Chair in African American Literature, Rutgers University
3:40pm
Closing discussion: WDA Members and 2022 conference participants
4pm
Reception
About WDA
Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) is a graduate student group formed in 2014 at Princeton University School of Architecture. The annual WDA conference celebrates the work and legacy of a pivotal female architect or designer with contributions from international historians and scholars, in addition to artists, curators, and practitioners. Read more.
2022 WDA Conference Organizers include Sophia Diodati, Keren Dillard, Laura Fegely, Ellen Harris, Patty Hazle, Rinna Jiang, Jacqueline Mix, Lisa Ramsburg, Adrian Silva, Eunice Slanwa, Shoshana Torn, Priscilla Zhang.
Additional 2021–22 WDA Members include Jocelyn Beausire, Jarincy Rodriguez, Sofia Rojo, Marie de Testa.
The WDA conference is made possible by the Jean Labatut Memorial Lecture Fund. WDA is a recognized student organization by The Graduate School of Princeton University. The School of Architecture, Princeton University, is registered with the AIA Continuing Education System (AIA/CES) and is committed to developing quality learning activities in accordance with the AIA/CES criteria.
