Classes
Designing Without Gentrifying
Ages 18 and up
October 17–November 7, 2024
6–9pm EST, Thursdays
Image by Philip Poon
Instructor
Philip Poon
Pricing
$350 (tuition assistance available)
Dates
17 October - 7 November
Designing Without Gentrifying is an introductory course that combines aspects of architecture, art, community activism, and urban planning to consider the possibility of neighborhood development without gentrification. Focusing on Manhattan’s Chinatown, this course will share fundamental concepts of architecture and urban planning along with case studies, local field trips to buildings and public spaces, and guest speakers. The course will culminate with a design project and guest critic review.
This course will be held in-person at the Abrons Arts Center. All courses will gather on Thursday November 14th for a culminating share out.
For a longer course description, please visit The School of Making Thinking’s page.
About Philip Poon
Philip Poon is an architect, artist, and writer whose work engages the complex dynamics of a changing Manhattan Chinatown and the relationship of Asian-American identity within it.
Informed by his background as a Chinese-American from New York City, his work as a registered architect, and his engagement with art and activist movements in Chinatown, his projects materialize issues at the intersection of space, race, and class.
He had a solo exhibition at the Pearl River Mart Gallery and has exhibited at La MaMa Galleria, WSA, Citygroup, and On Canal. His critical writing has been published in Other Almanac and Best! Letters from Asian Americans in the arts, and his work has been appeared in Art in America, ArtAsiaPacific, Chicago Review of Books, The Architect’s Newspaper, South China Morning Post, Sing Tao Daily, World Journal, and more.
Partnership
Designing Without Gentrifying is curated in partnership with The School of Making Thinking.
Tuition Assistance
Abrons offers tuition assistance to any student whose household makes under $50,000 annually. Through our NYCHA Arts Initiative, classes are FREE for all NYCHA residents living in zip codes 10002, 10003, 10009, and 10038.
For courses offered in partnership with the School of Making Thinking, we also offer a sliding scale for Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color.