School of Visual Arts (SVA) announced Present Tense: The 2011 D-Crit Conference, conceived and organized by graduating students of the MFA Design Criticism Department (D-Crit) at SVA. Moderated by documentary film producer Adam Harrison Levy and with a keynote lecture by New York Times contributor Rob Walker, the second annual event will feature thesis presentations by all 11 graduating D-Crit students. The conference concludes with a panel discussion that includes MoMA's Paola Antonelli, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, Van Alen Institute's Olympia Kazi, The New Yorker's John Seabrook and Fast Company's Linda Tischler, who will join Levy and Walker onstage to debate the future of design discourse.
The fast-paced, day-long forum will be held at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, on Wednesday, May 4 and begins at 1pm with the panel discussion taking place at 6pm.
"Situated at the intersection of commerce and culture, design is a field of activity that touches the lives of everyone," said Alice Twemlow, chair of the MFA Design Criticism Department at SVA. "Yet, while forums for design commentary have increased, there is a crucial need for more intellectually rigorous and imaginative approaches to design criticism."
Present Tense: The 2011 D-Crit Conference will showcase new contributions to the design discourse. Topics will range from the design of playgrounds to an exploration of Detroit's design and rebuilding initiatives. Other areas of investigation include decay and impermanence in design, music videos in the internet age and the cultural significance of the afro.
The participating students and projects are:
- Kim Birks, "Recreate: New Grounds for New York's Playgrounds"
- Sarah Cox, "The Detroiter: Resident Design Initiatives in a City Reshaping"
- Molly Heintz, "Myth to Megaphone: Behind the Creation of the Designer's Public Identity"
- Stephanie Jönsson, "Designing Sound: Aural Agency in the Twenty-First Century"
- Aileen Kwun, "Mirror Image Maker: Looking at Music Videos of the Internet Age"
- Saundra Marcel, "Living Licensed: Consuming Characters in Girls' Popular Culture"
- Avinash Rajagopal, "Tinkering with Design: Preparing for the Convergence of Design and Hacking"
- Vera Sacchetti, "Design Crusades: A Critical Reflection on Social Design"
- Zach Sachs, "Permanence as a Criterion"
- Michele Washington, "Untangling the Naps: The Cultural Significance of the Afro and How it is Imagined Today"
- Amelie Znidaric, "Listen to Your Chair: Design and the Art of Storytelling"