De Nichols presents at the 2020 Chicago Camps convening to share about her consultancy, Civic Creatives, as part of its Leadership by Design sessions.
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The African American Design Nexus presents The Nexus, a podcast that explores the intersection of design, identity, and practice through conversations with Black designers, writers and educators. In this episode, I spoke with the hosts about the #DesignAsProtest movement, alternatives to profit-driven models of practice for designers, and the importance of self care and collective care in the face of the white supremacist logics that linger in design culture.
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Socially Driven Magazine covers De Nichols and five fellow arts-based entrepreneurs as they reflect on purpose and keys to their success.
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During the current COVID pandemic, parents and educators may seek to help their children understand and navigate the new life changes that are required for remaining healthy and safe from the spread of the virus. Pangea Publishing sent me a copy of their latest book, The Unwelcome Stranger, which teaches emerging and early readers about the virus through the story of Jasmine, a young girl who learns about the coronavirus through the wisdom of her grandmother. In this video, you can read The Unwelcome Stranger alongside me by accessing a free digital copy of it at https://www.pangeaeducation.org/the-unwelcome-stranger.
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Designer and social worker, De Nichols, capstoned Design Futures Forum with a reflective talk about sustaining personal and collective well-being in the fight for racial healing and justice in the United States. De shared lessons from civil rights leaders and fused insights from her personal challenges of navigating design activism with a chronic illness. By introducing a framework to assess the collective trauma in the built environment, De proposed a set of provocations that designers might consider as they design toward a more just and healthy future.
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As the Deliberate & Unafraid (DAU) book club kicks off this summer, I will be organizing a few experiences to start building a community of creative warriors around a shared love of reading.
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Introducing Design As Protest, Growing Griot, and the Forward through Ferguson Racial Healing & Justice Fund—three creative efforts I am championing for racial justice throughout this summer.
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In defense of black lives, Design Justice for Black Lives demands that the design industry holds itself accountable as a complicit actor in the violence, marginalization, and targeted inequity faced by Black communities.
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3 things that make me say yes these days:
1. If it fuels creativity and does not distract from my priorities
2. If it's rich in deep, personal connection and values
3. If I can make a meaningful contribution
Two of De Nichols’ works about the COVID-19 pandemic are on display at the Smith Campus Center at Harvard University May 12–June 30, 2020.
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Learn how De Nichols earned the opportunity to write her first book, The Art of Protest, with Bonnier UK.
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For the Harvard GSD Design Research Forum’s 2020 colloquium, I share thoughts on five roles that design researchers can serve as the world navigates the #covid19 pandemic. In this audio recording, I discuss how these roles can help generate data, expose bias, synthesize information, clarify truth, forecast new possibilities, and evaluate current processes and systems of power. I also identify a range of U.S. audiences and demographics for which each of these roles might elevate a deeper sense of personal agency due to histories of marginalization and targeted violence.
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Mallory Nezam, De Nichols, and Damon Davis are the artists and designers of MADAD, a collective from St. Louis, MO, selected for the 2020 corhort of Monument Lab’s Transnational Fellowship. MADAD works to reimagine how joy, justice, and interactivity improve public spaces and cultural experiences in St. Louis.
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This week's note inspired by "Tell the truth, and always seek justice," a statement made in a course session with Dr. Cornel West.
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During this time of uncertainty with the spread of the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, cabin fever, depression, and anxiety can easily creep into our daily lives as we social distance and self-quarantine. In this video, I share some of the ways that I have sustained structure in my life in efforts to ward off anxiety and continue to be productive at home.
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This roundup includes financial, creative, and mental health resources for artists during the coronavirus pandemic.
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I write this to thank everyone who has reached out to me to ask about my well-being in the midst of the COVID-19 / coronavirus outbreak and its impact on my experience as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard. In my reflection below, I will share changes that happening in my life and work as well as share how you can support others who are impacted by this experience.
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