SEATTLE — "This exhibit is titled 'From the Ground Up: Black Architects and Designers,'" said Hasaan Kirkland, a consultant for the exhibit. "It was a traveling show that came from the Chicago Museum of Industry, and so we had an opportunity to be the first stop, which is a nice plug for Seattle."
"Our goal is to really celebrate and promote the historical kind of lens and the contemporary presence of Blacks who are in architecture, men and women who have forged the ground and created many of the imparts to the skylines across the country.
"When you come in, we have three-dimensional model pieces that are architectural structures related to actual architectural structures that exist," Kirkland continued. "We have timelines, which is what the shared show from Chicago sent us, 24 different panels of celebrated African American architects and their work.”
"When they come to the show, right off the bat, we're going to celebrate Ben McAdoo, Jr," Kirkland said. "He's significant because he's the first African
American architect, to have a firm to celebrate the developments of the architectural industry in the Pacific Northwest."
"Young people have the opportunity to look at this, see themselves in it, right?" said Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington. "And when you see yourself in it, then it's something that you can achieve, you feel that you can achieve that too."
"I just hope that individuals that come are able to recognize the excellence of the African American community and the culture," Kirkland added. "Architecture may seem to be something that's not considered a Black cultural thing. I hope that they see that they don't feel like this is a Black house or a Black building, but that this is just a bomb building."
"From the Ground Up: Black Architects and Designers" is at MOHAI now till April 30.
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