Sara De Bondt is a designer, educator, and publisher. She runs her own independent design practice working with cultural clients and is the co-founder of Occasional Papers, a small publishing company focusing on publishing affordable books devoted to the histories of architecture, art, design, film, and literature. The Walker Art Center called Sara “the epitome of a cultural designer, combining a love of contemporary typography with a deep investigation into the history of graphic design. Through her design practice, which consists of client-based work, designing and editing books, and curating conferences, she is consistently contributing to the critical discourse.” In this episode, Sara and I talk about her background from studying acting to working with Stuart Bailey, Daniel Eatock, and James Goggin; the importance of design history in contemporary practice; and what designers can learn from other disciplines.
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Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider are architects, educators, writers, and researchers. With their research collective Mould, they are co-authors of the new book, Architecture is Climate that re-examines architecture as a practice deeply connected to climate, politics, economics, and social justice. Jeremy was previously the head of Central Saint Martins and Tatjana is head of the Institute for History and Theory of Architecture and the City at the Technical University Braunschweig. In this conversation. Jarrett talks with Jeremy and Tatjana about how the climate crisis changes architecture, the problems with sustainability, and the expanding potentials for architectural thinking.
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Heidi Korsavong and Benjamin Critton are the founders of Marta, a Los Angeles-based, globally engaged art gallery. Founded in 2019, Marta makes space for “artists to experiment with the utility of design and for designers to explore the abandonment of function.” In this conversation, Jarrett talks with Heidi and Benjamin about art that lives between disciplines, the curatorial ideas that anchor their exhibitions and how their backgrounds—Heidi in interiors and furniture and Benjamin in graphic and typography—informs the work they do now.
Giovanna Borasi is an architect, writer, and curator. She’s currently the director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, where she previous held the positions of Chief Curator, Curator of Contemporary Architecture, and Associate Director of Programs. In all these roles, her work often seeks to challenge the conventional definition of the architect. In this conversation, Jarrett and Giovanna talk about the CCA’s mission and history, how her background studying architecture influences her work, and why she’s interested in the confusion that comes with blurring disciplinary boundaries.