Walk the Block Institute keynote speaker will be Germane Barnes, a Miami-based architect, designer and educator. Germane Barnes’ research and design practice investigates the connection between architecture and identity. Mining architecture’s social and political agency, he examines how the built environment influences black domesticity. Currently, he is an Associate Professor and Director of the Community Housing Identity Lab (CHIL) at the University Of Miami School Of Architecture. Barnes is the 2021 Harvard GSD Wheelwright Prize winner, Rome Prize Fellow and winner of the Architectural League Prize. His design and research contributions have been published and exhibited in several international institutions. Most notably, The Museum of Modern Art, Pin-Up Magazine, The Graham Foundation, The New York Times, Architect Magazine, DesignMIAMI/ Art Basel, The Swiss Institute, Metropolis Magazine, Curbed, and The National Museum of African American History where he was identified as one of the future designers on the rise. He has recently been selected as one of Wallpaper USA’s 400 list, which “honors the people defining America’s creative landscape in 2024.”

The Central Area Cultural EcoSystem, 21st Century (CACE 21) is Wa Na Wari’s community organizing initiative that seeks to build community power and capacity amongst Black Central District homeowners and Black cultural workers to advocate for land use policies that lower the barriers to creating more cultural spaces based on the Wa Na Wari model.

In this model, Black homeowners would be able to convert all or portions of homes they own into “micro-cultural spaces” where individual artists and small arts groups can administer, create, and present their cultural works as a community activity and public benefit. These spaces would be scalable for neighborhood life, responsive to the needs and norms of Black communal life, and would provide economic opportunities for Black homeowners and new opportunities for displaced cultural workers alike. Our vision is a response to the housing affordability crisis that is impacting residential, commercial, and cultural opportunities for Seattleites at large and Black Seattleites in particular.

During Walk the Block Institute, CACE 21 will lead a series of Creative Community Building Workshops (stay tuned for details)! Register for Walk the Block Institute ! Please register here