Seattle Design Festival

Whether we are cognizant of it or not, each of us is regularly and significantly impacted by education and the effects of its design and position in our world. Though access to quality education is imperfectly and unequally distributed, educational identity often affects economic prosperity, social mobility, and complicated, sometimes externally-driven, definitions of self worth. The critical questions we must all ask are: What does it mean to design for equity in education, and how can we create this environment?

Through traversing this series of installations, participants interact with a broad education ecosystem that they have inherently inhabited but have only been able to fully identify in narrow interactions and by way of decidedly unequal lenses. The four educational spaces spark curiosity and engagement, embodying the macro-to-micro educational ecosystem: from the self, to the home, into the instructional space, and across the community, individuals and groups are inspired to consider how they interact with education and how this system is designed to promote or inhibit equity.

This system of installations are accessibly located around the block party space and are designed for visitors of all ages. This installation is part of a larger program, including a conference panel taking place at noon on September 19, 2015 at the Seattle Public Library.