Assistant Professor Christensen and collaborator Chris Cote to share participatory creative research project at the College Art Association 2021 Conference

Assistant Professor Christensen and collaborator Chris Cote from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville School of Design are sharing a participatory creative research project at the 2021 College Art Association Conference. Their project, "Common Goods: Everyday Objects in New Rituals of Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic," is a case study of designed objects with newly defined cultural value within the current historical moment in the U.S.—a period defined by Covid-19 and new rituals of labor. By recontextualizing designed objects being used, cared for, and valued beyond their price point, they hope to broaden definitions of design and audience past elitist frameworks in order to examine the relationship of design and capitalism. By focusing on material culture of the everyday, they center lived experience and advocate for human-centered design ideologies. The creative project is part of the panel "Towards a Socialist History of US Design: The Material Culture of Progressive Movements," chaired by Gretchen Von Koenig of Parsons, The New School and Rachel Hedy Rosengarten Hunnicutt of Parsons School of Design.