Join us for Character Matters – a virtual exploration of three sites that set the historic tone of Seattle’s Central District: Douglass-Truth Branch Library, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, and Washington Hall. As new development rises to the challenge of design reviews and community expectations, we will highlight the need to address and create spaces that will enhance our neighborhoods. 

In this site-specific and multi-locational program, we will discuss the role of community input and stories on the historic footprint, architectural sensibilities of equitable design, and visualization of a fully resourced community. Inspired by their work with the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation in creating the "African American Heritage in King County" tour, Jackie Peterson, Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, and Omari Salisbury will lead a panel conversation highlighting the ongoing artistic and architectural commentary of the gentrified cityscape of Seattle’s Central District.

The Diversity by Design exhibit, hosted by the Seattle Design Festival, is curated by the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable Committee. This exhibit is part of a broader sustained effort to shift mindsets of the architectural field. For more information on the exhibit and the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable Committee, visit: https://diversitybydesignseattle.com/ 

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Program Partners: 

• Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, President/Black Heritage Society of Washington State 
• Jackie Peterson, Independent Curator and Public Historian/Jackie Peterson | Exhibit Services  
• Converge Media - Omari Salisbury, Alaia D’Alessandro, and Team
• Seattle Design Festival (SDF)

Program Panel: 

• Berette Macaulay, Artist, Writer, and Curatorial Fellow at On the Boards
• Laurie Allison Wilson, Weber Thomson, AIA 
• Margaret Knight, AIA
• Rico Quirindongo, Deputy Director at Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development, AIA