• Securing Homeland:Rebounding/Rebuilding for a Sustainable Future

    Date posted: October 17, 2014 Author: jolanta
    Mary Mattingly
    Homeland [IN]Security:Vanishing Dreams
     Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs 
    is pleased to present:
    Securing Homeland:Rebounding/Rebuilding for a Sustainable Future
    A Panel Discussion
     Moderated by exhibition curator
    Margaret Mathews-Berenson
    Panelists: Brian Baer, Cynthia Barton, Deborah Gans
    and Mary Mattingly

    Sunday, October 26, 3:00-4:30 pm

    security-00

    Mary Mattingly
    Towards a Heterotopia, 2008

     

    The panel, moderated by the curator, Margaret Mathews-Berenson, will focus on innovative solutions to the problems of homelessness and displacement caused by catastrophic natural and man-made disasters. Panelists will discuss innovative projects and proposals by artists, architects, non-profit organizations and government agencies around the world to address issues of housing for those in need. Among these are post-Katrina housing in New Orleans and rebuilding efforts for victims of Hurricane Sandy in the New York area; designing with sustainable materials; urban reclamation projects in Chicago, Houston and Detroit; collaborations between artists, urban design professionals and local communities; and social entrepreneurship in contemporary art and architecture. In conclusion, panelists—together with audience participants—   will contribute ideas and recommendations for addressing these problems in the future. Handouts will include a list of organizations worldwide that provide meaningful solutions in the hopes that audience members might be inspired to assist them in accomplishing their goals.
    Brian Baer– is the Regional Program Coordinator for Architecture for Humanity here in New York, where he is leading and managing the Hurricane Sandy Reconstruction program. He received his architecture degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and is a LEED accredited professional and certified by NCARB. Baer has over 25 years’ experience of sustainable, community-aided design solutions for educational, cultural, civic and nongovernmental agency projects across the United States. He has collaborated with a wide variety of constituencies to bring consensus and success to the design and building process. Currently he is managing the ReNew NJ/NY Schools, ReStore the Shore, and authored the Resilience through Education and Design Centers programs.

     

    Cynthia Barton– is the Housing Recovery Program manager at the New York City Office of Emergency Management and Housing Recovery Program manager for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program. She holds a master of architecture from Yale, and was previously the managing director of Architecture for Humanity New York, and a contributing editor to the book, Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Solutions to Humanitarian Crises. Her disaster-relief work includes post-earthquake housing in India with Shigeru Ban and most recently overseeing the design and construction of a prototype for urban post-disaster housing in Brooklyn, NY.
    Deborah Gans-The Gans Studio is known for its innovative “extreme housing” design prototypes for people displaced by homelessness, natural disasters and war. Their continuing work on alternative forms of shelters includes: disaster relief housing for Kosovo refugees; an interim housing system for the homeless commissioned by Common Ground; a community based planning and design project for post-Katrina New Orleans; and currently, a similar project in Sheepshead Bay post Super Storm Sandy. The Gans Studio prototype for a deployable Roll Out House (originally designed for refugee camps) was shown in Into the Open, an exhibition at the United States Pavilion in the 2008 Venice Biennial featuring civic-minded projects by contemporary architects. Among her many publications on landscapes of displacement are: Extreme Sites: Greening the Brownfield and essays in Beyond Shelter: Architecture and Human Dignity, Design Like You Give A Damn, and Expanding Architecture among others. She is a contributing editor for BOMB magazine and the Italian journal BOUNDARIES.
    Mary Mattingly– An artist based in New York, Mary Mattingly recently launched WetLand, 2014, a floating sculpture, eco-habitat and performance space at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. This follows her Flock House Project, 2012: three spherical living-systems incorporating rainwater collection that cycled water through edible gardens, solar panels, and enclosed living spaces. These spheres journeyed through New York City’s five boroughs and are currently in Omaha, NE. Mattingly also founded the Waterpod Project, 2009, a barge-based public space containing an autonomous habitat that docked at piers in each of New York’s five boroughs. Her work has been exhibited at the International Center of Photography, the Seoul Art Center, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the New York Public Library, deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Robert Mann Gallery, and the Palais de Tokyo.

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