Carrying Identity is an event intended to showcase cultural representation and identity through architecture. The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) Chapter at City College of New York (CCNY) is made up of a diverse group of students, each connected to an area of the world that they hold important to themselves, yet are often undervalued or underrepresented in architecture. This evening we aim to foster a space where professionals can showcase their work that represents their identity in hope of inspiring future architects to carry their sense of self into their work beyond academia. Join us in empowering students with insights into the varied career paths within the design profession while fostering a sense of representation.
Speakers:
Elsa Ponce, RA, Principal, Studio Elsa Ponce; Educator
Chat Travieso, Artist, Designer; Co-founder, Yeju & Chat; Tepper Chair, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University
About the Speakers:
Elsa Ponce is a registered architect and educator based in Brooklyn. She leads Studio Elsa Ponce, an architecture practice rooted in spatial justice and community access. Inspired by grassroots movements, Ponce works through a creative methodology grounded in solidarity and participation, collaborating with underrepresented communities to co-design community centers, workers hubs, and spaces that support civic engagement and activism. Ponce’s work has been supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, Mexico’s National Fund for Culture and the Arts, Art Omi, Mac Dowell, New Museum’s New Inc, and the Rema Hort Mann Foundation. She teaches at the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York and is a co-founding member of WIP Collaborative.
Chat Travieso is an artist, designer, and researcher. He aims to create participatory, architectural and research-based projects that reinforce social bonds in public spaces and interrogates the histories and policies that have shaped the built environment. His past work has been commissioned by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Architectural League of New York, NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and a handful of other organizations. Travieso is currently the Tepper Chair in Visual Arts at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts. He has also previously worked at the City College of New York, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design.
AIAS CCNY
