Softening the Grid: A Conversation with Emily Velez Nelms and David Lisbon

In response to Archtober’s theme, “Shared Spaces,” and highlighting the involvement of the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, & Design, visual artist and board member Emily Velez Nelms will be in conversation with David Lisbon, Curatorial Assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art to discuss Velez Nelms’ practice.

Lisbon and Velez Nelms will engage with the studio’s questions of desire, surveillance, and power. Drawing on her use of the archive to better understand tropical and touristic geographies. Lisbon and Velez Nelms will consider the politics of architectural formation and public memory in southern Florida. 

Speakers:
David Lisbon, Curatorial Assistant, Whitney Museum of American Art
Emily Velez Nelms, Artist; Principal, Velez Nelms Concepts

This event is part of the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design (ISAPD)'s ‘Thinking/Being/Designing for the Collective’ series, developed in collaboration with the Center for Architecture. Drawing inspiration from Archtober 2025’s theme of Shared Spaces, join ISAPD to imagine a world where space and resources are shared responsibly and reciprocally. As we respond to the complex collective experience in 2025: learn Indigenous principles to re-establish a cyclical and renewable relationship with the environment, develop material conditions where communities can unite across separation, reflect on the role that reconciliation plays in rethinking spaces for diplomacy, and focus on design practices and tools where cultural lineages and lived histories intersect.

If you register for a virtual ticket, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to access the program.