Architect, designer, and educator Germane Barnes is widely recognized for his work exploring the intersections of identity, race, and architecture. His current installation for Welcome to Paradise examines and recreates the iconic Shotgun Home, centering the African American contribution to American architecture through play. Join us in celebration of Barnes' rendering of Black life with a Summer Backyard BBQ and hands-on spades clinic hosted by actor producer and author, Khalimah Gaston.

The gathering will be followed by a special one-on-one conversation between Germane Barnes and creative director, photographer, and design theorist, Dario Calmese. Through his project, Institute of the Black Imagination, Dario explores questions around design while centering on the equity and inclusion of Black people who have continually remixed spaces, objects, and ideas not initially made for them.

Backyard BBQ catered by Lil Greenhouse Grill begins at 5:30pm

Khalimah Gaston’s Spades Clinic begins at 6pm

Conversation with Germane Barnes and Dario Calmese begins at 8pm

Music by DJ Lucky C

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Germane Barnes' research and design practice investigates the connection between architecture and identity, examining architecture’s social and political agency through historical research and design speculation. Learning from historical data and perspectives from within architecture as well as cultural and ethnic studies, he examines how the built environment influences the social and cultural experience. Born in Chicago, IL Germane Barnes received a Bachelor's of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Architecture from Woodbury University where he was awarded the Thesis Prize for his project Symbiotic Territories: Architectural Investigations of Race, Identity, and Community. He believes strongly in design as a process, and approaches each condition imposed on a project as an opportunity rather than a constraint. Architecture presents opportunities for transformation – materially, conceptually and sociologically. Currently he is the designer in residence for the Opa Locka Community Development Corporation and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture at the University of Miami. He has previously taught graduate seminars, and workshops at Woodbury University. His design and research contributions have been published and exhibited in several international publications and institutions. Most notably, The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, The Swiss Institute, DesignMIAMI/ and Curbed.com, where he was named a member of the 2015 Class of Young Guns, under-the-radar professionals who are busy challenging the status quo in the design industry.

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ABOUT DARIO CALMESE

Dario Calmese is an American creative director, photographer, and design theorist. His work interrogates the mechanisms of cultural production and the ways in which image, environment, and technology shape the lived experience. Spanning across the fields of photography, design, fashion, and performance, his practice aims at repopulating the voids within the construction of historical narrative and identity by leveraging the very systems that dictate how we come to know ourselves both collectively and individually. In 2020, Calmese made history as the first ever Black photographer to shoot a cover for Vanity Fair — in its 106-year existence — with his portrait of Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis. That same year, Calmese launched the Institute of Black Imagination (IBI), a design startup that works to preserve, integrate, and cultivate the Black imagination through innovative and interactive experiences. IBI's portfolio includes a widely acclaimed podcast, a powerful online archive of Black creativity, and a forthcoming location at the Oculus World Trade Centre, all of which tap into the “Pool of Black Genius” to share the visions of the modern iconoclasts taking the reins on cultural thought and innovation. A 2023 Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Calmese serves on the global advisory board for Estée Lauder Companies and is a professor at The New School’s Parsons School of Design in New York City. He's also an NYC Urban Design Forum Fellow, show director for the fashion brand Pyer Moss, and collaborated with Adobe Lightroom to design presets specifically for people of color. Additional clients include Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire Magazine, Numero, ABC Studios, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  

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