CBH Talk | The Meaning of Everyday Places
Much of the work of being human happens in everyday places.
~ Dr. Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
Sometimes the places we take most for granted are the heart and soul of our communities. For two decades Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani has studied the vital role of our neighborhoods’ unassuming places – diners, donut shops, laundromats, churches – that anchor communities in invisible and wondrous ways and connect us to a sense of belonging.
In her new book The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places, Bendiner-Viani uses the phrase “placework” to describe the way these innocuous local places foster our shared humanity and create community. She delves into two neighborhoods - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn and Oakland, CA - which serve as stand-ins for neighborhoods across the country. She walks with the people who live there, hears their stories, and documents these ‘tours’ in evocative photos of place.
Join for an evening of conversation and sharing with Bendiner-Viani and Kemi Ilesanmi, founding director of The Laundromat Project, who brings her own depth of knowledge about what it looks like to build meaningful space. Audience members will have a chance to volunteer to read selected stories out loud, and all will be welcomed to share the places in their neighborhoods that bring meaning to them.
Participants
Dr. Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani is a visual urbanist and cofounder of the interdisciplinary studio Buscada. She is the author of The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places (MIT Press, 2024) and Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York’s Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (University of Iowa Press, 2019), a finalist and honoree for the Brendan Gill Award. A widely exhibited photographer, she was a professor of urban studies at the New School for a decade and a fellow at the International Center of Photography and the Centre for Urban Community Research at Goldsmiths, University of London. She holds a doctorate in environmental psychology from the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Kemi Ilesanmi is founder and Principal of KGI Projects. As a dynamic culture strategist and leadership coach with over 25 years of experience in the arts sector, she has served as executive leader, foundation officer, and museum curator. From 2012-2022, she served as founding executive director for The Laundromat Project, a community-based arts organization. Under her leadership, The LP grew its staff, budget & impact tenfold. Prior to joining The LP, Kemi worked at Creative Capital Foundation and the Walker Art Center in curatorial and programming roles. She serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Joan Mitchell Foundation. She has been recognized and honored by the Metropolitan Museum and Brooklyn Magazine, among others. She is a graduate of Smith College and NYU.
Much of the work of being human happens in everyday places.
~ Dr. Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
Sometimes the places we take most for granted are the heart and soul of our communities. For two decades Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani has studied the vital role of our neighborhoods’ unassuming places – diners, donut shops, laundromats, churches – that anchor communities in invisible and wondrous ways and connect us to a sense of belonging.
In her new book The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places, Bendiner-Viani uses the phrase “placework” to describe the way these innocuous local places foster our shared humanity and create community. She delves into two neighborhoods - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn and Oakland, CA - which serve as stand-ins for neighborhoods across the country. She walks with the people who live there, hears their stories, and documents these ‘tours’ in evocative photos of place.
Join for an evening of conversation and sharing with Bendiner-Viani and Kemi Ilesanmi, founding director of The Laundromat Project, who brings her own depth of knowledge about what it looks like to build meaningful space. Audience members will have a chance to volunteer to read selected stories out loud, and all will be welcomed to share the places in their neighborhoods that bring meaning to them.
Participants
Dr. Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani is a visual urbanist and cofounder of the interdisciplinary studio Buscada. She is the author of The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places (MIT Press, 2024) and Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York’s Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (University of Iowa Press, 2019), a finalist and honoree for the Brendan Gill Award. A widely exhibited photographer, she was a professor of urban studies at the New School for a decade and a fellow at the International Center of Photography and the Centre for Urban Community Research at Goldsmiths, University of London. She holds a doctorate in environmental psychology from the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Kemi Ilesanmi is founder and Principal of KGI Projects. As a dynamic culture strategist and leadership coach with over 25 years of experience in the arts sector, she has served as executive leader, foundation officer, and museum curator. From 2012-2022, she served as founding executive director for The Laundromat Project, a community-based arts organization. Under her leadership, The LP grew its staff, budget & impact tenfold. Prior to joining The LP, Kemi worked at Creative Capital Foundation and the Walker Art Center in curatorial and programming roles. She serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Joan Mitchell Foundation. She has been recognized and honored by the Metropolitan Museum and Brooklyn Magazine, among others. She is a graduate of Smith College and NYU.
Brooklyn Public Library - Center for Brooklyn History MM/DD/YYYY 60