This month’s AIGA Memphis Community meeting, hosted at CoWork Memphis on Cooper, built on our previous meeting’s themes of activist-focused design. Local designer and screenprinter Will Loren spoke about his work that supported TakeEmDown901’s efforts to remove confederate monuments from public spaces, and board members Shiloh Barnat Goodman and Ashley Rae Burnett shared their experience at a recent AIGA National retreat focused on Diversity & Inclusion in design.

With Diversity & Inclusion being one of AIGA’s highest priorities in 2018, the Memphis chapter is seeking to align with the national organization’s efforts. Shiloh and Ashley outlined upcoming initiatives to feature local designers of color, as well as keep a closer eye on occasions like International Women’s Day, which offer a chance to spotlight and celebrate the work of more marginalized groups.

Shiloh then took all the meeting attendees through a privilege walk, an exercise designed to expose the vastly different experiences of those around us.

Will Loren’s discussion of the TakeEmDown901 initiative was equally eye-opening. While the statues of Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest have been removed, the group is still hard at work fighting injustices, such as fundraising bail money for unfair arrests of local community members.

To offset the intense discussions of activism and provocative design, attendees were also asked to answer a question – where do you find your inner calm? Answeres ranged from playing frisbee at the park, to spending time with pets, to enjoying the impending patio weather.

AIGA Memphis community meetings are a free event taking place on the second Thursday of every month. The next meeting is on May 10th.