The Center for Design and Material Culture is proud to participate in Human Ecology’s Equity & Justice Network. The E&J Network supports the continued evolution of our school into a community wherein people with diverse backgrounds find success, share knowledge, and work together to advance equity and justice.
Developing a Common Language Around Cultural Appropriation
For more than 50 years, the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection (HLATC) has been a destination for those passionate about global textile traditions. And for the past five years, the collection has been the foundation of a curriculum that seeks to help those visitors understand the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. The collection serves a wide range of researchers and community members as well as scores of UW–Madison students. Follow the button below for more information about this curriculum.
Developing a Common Language Around Cultural Appropriation
Equity & Justice Network
Equity & Justice Network Lecture Series in Design Studies
The CDMC is happy to partner with the Equity & Justice Network Taskforce in the Design Studies Department in the School of Human Ecology to host a cross-departmental Equity & Justice Speakers Series in Design Studies.
At its core, Design is about Equity and Justice. Designers aim to make the world better for everyone through thoughtful, innovative, beautiful, empathetic and sustainable practices. The Design Studies E&J Network Committee considers excellence in design in each of the areas represented in our program: Interior Architecture, Textile & Fashion Design, Design Strategy, and Material Culture. We are committed to highlighting professionals that advocate for underrepresented groups, design excellence and innovation in all fields, design approaches that emphasize the importance of empathy and community engagement, interdisciplinary approaches that allow for a more inclusive and diverse approach to design, and other topics such as designing for justice that focus on the world changing possibilities of design education. The E&J Network in Design Studies will expand our students’ worldview and help build a new Scholarly Community within Design Studies and Human Ecology.
Unsettling: Learning of Equity in Creative Expression and Teaching
Xia Gao presents her work and her exploration of "equity" through her practice.
Visible/Invisible: Designing Afro-Futures
Denenge Duyst-Akpem presents on her multi-hyphenate practice as an award-winning, self-described “space sculptor”, designer, writer, performance artist, and educator whose practice and scholarship bridge disciplines of design, ritual and ecology.