EVENT
SCHEDULE
BLACK UTOPIA, LET’S CELEBRATE IT!
12:00PM
Registration
12:00PM — 1:00PM
Admission lunch
12:00PM — 7:00PM
Playground of Empathy: Immersive Gender Experience
3:00PM
The Just City Cypher Room Open House
4:00PM — 7:30PM
Dope and Different Exhibit
5:00PM
Opening Remarks
5:30PM
OPENING KEYNOTE
Pierce Freelon
6:30PM — 9:00PM
Beer and Dogs: Black to the Future Co-hosted with Africa GSD
BLACK JUSTICE, LET’S TALK ABOUT IT!
8:00AM
Registration
8:00AM
Breakfast
8:45AM
Opening Remarks
9:00AM
SESSION 1
African American Design Nexus
The African American Design Nexus was launched through the GSD library in 2019. The project honors the legacy of Black designers while exploring “the intersection of design, identity, and practice”. BiD is excited to partner with the Nexus through this rich conversation with four women who have fundamentally shaped the field through their visions for transformative design.
Panelists: Felecia Davis, Allison Grace Williams and Diane Jones Allen
Moderated by: Gabriel Ramos & Mariah Barber
9:30AM — 6:30PM
Playground of Empathy: Immersive Gender Experience
9:30PM — 6:30PM
Dope and Different Exhibit
10:15AM
INTERLUDE
The Just City Cypher Session
TRILLFIT Dance Break
11:00AM
SESSION 2
Imagining Black Futures: Designing for the Possible
From climate change to mass-migration, designers of the future will be faced with unparalleled challenges. Our creativity will be pushed to the brink as we are tasked with designing for realities that have yet to exist. This panel explores the multi-faceted ways that design may rise up to meet the challenges of the future, rooted in not just notions of fear, but possibility.
Panelists: Toni Griffin, Kenneth Bailey and Malcolm Davis
Moderated by: Jha D Williams
12:00PM
Lunch
12:00PM
Career Fair
1:30PM
SESSION 3
Black Power Meets the Digital: Equity & Justice in Technology and Media
From techno-chauvinism, to AI systems that do not recognize Black faces, the impact of technology and media on Black communities continues to be profoundly consequential. The following panelists breathe life and insight into how technology and media can be used to create abundance for Black communities, rather than exacerbated oppression. From leveraging biomimicry, to reshaping graphic design, and infusing technology with afrofuturism, this panel explores how Black designers and creatives can harness tech for good.
Panelists: Bridgette Wallace, Jerome Harris, Ari Melenciano and Billy Almon
Moderated by: Ladipo Famodu
2:45PM
INTERLUDE
Guided Meditation with Kartina Richardson. The Just City Cypher Session 2
3:30PM
SESSION 4
The Sanctity of Black Bodies: Creating Spaces for Wellness & Joy
What is required for Black people to walk through the world liberated, joyful, and healed in the future? Our panelists explore how mental wellness, community-grown wealth, and Black dream-spaces will converge to create a future where the sanctity of our bodies is honored and dignified.
Panelists: Denise Shante Brown, Nia Evans, Charles Wallace-Thomas IV and Adolphus Opara
Moderated by: DeAndrea Nichols
4:45PM
BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS
BlackSpace
Designing in Color
AI in the Loop
5:45PM
Closing Remarks
6:00PM
OPENING KEYNOTE
Deanna Van Buren
9:00
Reception
BLACK FUTURISM, LET’S DEFINE IT!
9:00AM
Registration
9:00AM
Breakfast
10:00AM
Opening Remarks
11:00AM
WORKSHOPS
Nature-Inspired Futures: Exploring Biomimicry as a tool for people of color
Black Quantum Futurism Collective
The Just City Lab Cypher Session
BlackSpace
1:00PM
Conference Closing