Diversify Design

https://www.beautyinenormousbleakness.com/ is a project by Washington University in St. Louis to research and document some of the Japanese American alumni of their School of Architecture who were incarcerated in internment camps in WWII.

Beauty in Enormous Bleakness Beauty in enormous BleaknessThe Interned Generation of Japanese American Designers “If I hadn’t gone to that kind of place, I wouldn’t have realized the beauty that exists in enormous bleakness.”-Chiura Obata, sumi-e painter, former incarceree, and father of Gyo Obata Clipping of January, 19...

Artist Jacqueline Bishop discuss her tea set which platforms and gives agency to the role of the market woman within the enslaved peoples of the Carribean.

The story behind... The Keeper of All The Secrets Artist Jacqueline Bishop speaks to historian Stella Dadzie about the influences behind her ceramic artwork, now on display in the Queen’s House

A Diversify Design moment from the

Paul Tazewell Is First Black Man to Win Oscar for Best Costume Design for ‘Wicked’ (Gift Article) He won for his work on the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked.”

With thanks to Dr. Ezra Shales for highlighting this designer for me:

Lewis Temple – NB Historical Society Lewis Temple (ca. 1800-1854) invented the toggle iron, the only tool to have revolutionized the whaling industry in the nineteenth century. Temple was born in Richmond, Virginia, but whether he was enslaved or free at birth and at the time he left Richmond for New Bedford about 1829 is not known. On...

Classic midcentury!

As the first Black American designer to receive the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design award, A. Joel Robinson was declared “one of the most promising newcomers in the highly competitive field of fabric design” by Ebony Magazine in 1952. His award-winning fabrics were produced by L. Anton Maix Fabrics. 🔴🟡

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Textile, Roman Candles, 1951; Designed by A. Joel Robinson; USA; Linen. This object is part of Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection and is not currently on view.