The Graham Foundation is pleased to partner with the Chicago Architecture Biennial to host the Chicago Design Summit, led by the Floating Museum—artistic team for CAB 5, the fifth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, This is a Rehearsal, opening September 2023. The Summit convenes leading practitioners to explore emerging ideas in contemporary architecture and design and serves as a forum for research and the development of the CAB 5 program.

Introduction by the Floating Museum
10:30 a.m.

Session 1: Rehearsing Critique
11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
This panel explores rehearsal as a practice of systemic and structural critique—living with and within systems to identify what has been overlooked, unconsidered, and uninvestigated—to establish a duty and standard of care as a prerequisite to performative, political, organizational, or environmental engagements or actions.

Panelists: Ionit Behar, associate curator, DePaul Art Museum (Chicago); Andrea Carlson, artist (Chicago); Ibrahim Mahama, artist (Tamale, Ghana); Anjulie Rao, journalist (Chicago); Florencia Rodriguez, director, School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago (Chicago)
Facilitator: Kerry Cardoza, journalist (Chicago)

Lunch Break
12:30–1:30 p.m.

Session 2: Rehearsing Relations
1:30–3 p.m.
This panel explores rehearsal as a practice of individual and collective attunement to build organizational power through mutual understanding.

Panelists: Jha D Amazi, director of the Public Memory and Memorials Lab, principal, MASS. (Boston); Skyla Hearn, cofounder, The Blackivists (Chicago); Erin Harkey, commissioner, Department of Cultural Events and Special Affairs (Chicago); Asad Jafri, cultural producer/artist (Chicago); Ujijji Davis Williams, landscape architect, founder, JIMA Studio (Detroit)
Facilitator: Megha Ralapati, program director, fellowships, CEC ArtsLink (Chicago)

Session 3: Rehearsing Production
3:15–4:45 p.m.
This panel explores rehearsal as a practice of production through improvisation, speculation, and iterative development in response to social and climatic change.

Panelists: Meida Teresa McNeal, artistic/managing director, Honey Pot Performance (Chicago); Dan Peterman, artist, founder, Experimental Station (Chicago); Vyjayanthi Venuturupalli Rao, anthropologist (New York); Chris Reed, landscape architect, founding principal, STOSS (Cambridge); Feda Wardak, architect, director, Aman Iwan (Paris)
Facilitators: Karla Sierralta and Brian Strawn, cofounders, Strawn Sierralta (Honolulu)

Closing performance and reception
5 p.m.

The Summit is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Graham Foundation.

Click here to learn more about the Chicago Architecture Biennial