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Blacks and Minority Ethnics in American Architecture: Redefining the Architect Phenotype

Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - 8:00am to Saturday, March 5, 2016 - 8:00am

Blacks and Minority Ethnics in American Architecture: Redefining the Architect Phenotype

February 11 – March 5, 2016
School of Architecture and Design/College of the Arts
Fletcher Hall Gallery

Blacks and Minority Ethnics in American Architecture: Redefining the Architect Phenotype opens this February at the Fletcher Hall Gallery. The exhibition celebrates the work and stories of American architects from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

The exhibition was organized by Kiwana T. McClung, Assistant Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture & Design (SOAD) and members of the UL Lafayette Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS).  Through Prof. McClung’s oversite, undergraduate students conducted scholarly research on past and present minority architects, designers and projects that have made an impact on the profession. Students gained inspiration from designers they could relate to culturally, which culminated into an exhibition containing research posters, models and drawings displaying the works of prominent minority architects.

Professor McClung was also recently awarded a Diversity Achievement Award by the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture. In a passage in Prof. McClung’s mini-grant for the exhibition stated, “diversity is one of the most important issues being addressed by architectural organizations and institutions today, as increasingly diverse populations call for diverse groups of individuals to address their problems.” The primary mission of the exhibition is to further the diversity initiatives of the SOAD and the profession of Architecture. These initiatives will help recruit, retain, and graduate black and minority ethnic students which will diversify architecture and design fields.

The exhibition is funded by an Undergraduate Research Mini-Grant by the UL Undergraduate Research Council.

Blacks and Minority Ethnics in American Architecture: Redefining the Architect Phenotype, will run from February 5 – March 5, 2016. Prof. McClung and the NOMAS students and will provide a series of shorts talks during the opening reception, which is Thursday, February 11th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday 9 – 5:00, and Fridays 9-12. For additional information please contact Michael Eble at michaeleble@louisiana.edu.

Room name/number: 
Fletcher Hall Gallery, Room 207
Event contact email: 
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