architecture, art, and the open city

putting together an exhibition in this class was always kind of an after thought to everything else, but everyone kicked it into high gear for the last month or so to pull this together. (finding out that it would also be exhibited at the architecture biennale in rotterdam helped move things along...) to sum it up, we took the arsenal of exclusion tools that we had written research papers on, and put them into brochure format. the cool part is, and thanks to dan for making this connection, we went out and actually put each brochure in corresponding locations throughout baltimore. (using the nifty "take one" boxes shown in the picture above.) each brochure then folds open to show the map above, with names and locations of all the other 29 tools. they'll be scattered around town for the next week if you're up for a scavenger hunt!

if not, an compilation of all of the brochures is on display right now in the decker library, and a reception (with pizza!) is today at 5 pm in the lobby area of bunting. you can also go to www.opencitybaltimore.com to read about each tool and see a google map of where they're all at.

here's more about the class (according to dan):

"Architecture, Art, and the Open City" is an ongoing research seminar.
Its aim is threefold:

The first aim is to think about what an "Open City" might look like. An ideal urban condition that has long inspired architects, urban planners, and artists, the "Open City" can be defined loosely as "an arena in which diverse social and ethnic groups can coexist, interact, and generate complex relationships and networks." Typically contrasted with the reality of the built environment in America, where homogeneous walled subburbs, fortified Central Business Districts, and nostalgic downtown tourist bubbles are said to rule the day, the Open City is a positive vision of the city as a vibrant space of encounter and exchange.

The second aim is to better understand the institutions, social policies, and physical objects that are in one way or another complicit in the spacial segregaton of Baltimore's residents along race, class, or age lines, and that therefore work against the Open City ideal.

The third aim is to identify opportunities for artists, architects, and activists to"Open" the city by either working against the institutions, social polities, and physical objects mentioned above, presenting new visions of the Open City, or directly intervening in public space.