“[Artists] are here to disturb the peace.” –James Baldwin
As intentional artists, we have a responsibility to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy systems of oppression. The design industry has the time, money, and resources to use design to hold space for the voices of systemically oppressed communities while we work towards a collective future free from violence. Our creative abilities give us the means to collectively share stories in ways that invoke change and inspire action and advocacy for communities that have historically been underrepresented, underserved, and underinvested. Although the concept of abolition isn’t a new one, the 2020 Uprisings provided a reintroduction to this way of thinking to the global public. In my keynote, I will explore our role as designers and our duty to engage in design with an abolitionist mindset which I argue is the only means to collective liberation.
