A Coin with Two Sides: Architecture as Propaganda, Urban Advocacy, and How to Meaningfully Engage with Community in Space

September 19th, 2020

Event Information:
A conversation with Hiba Abdallah and Michael Abel discussing architecture as propaganda, urban advocacy, and strategies for meaningful connections with place and community.

Hiba Abdallah is an artist and organizer who often works with others. Her practices borrow from design and social tradition as forms for exploring locality and civic agency in different communities. Abdallah received her BFA from the University of Windsor in 2012 and MFA from the University of Guelph in 2017. Solo and group exhibitions include Doris McCarthy Gallery (Scarborough, ON), Nuit Blanche Scarborough (Scarborough, ON), Museum of Contemporary Art (Toronto, ON), Art Gallery of Windsor (Windsor, ON), Modern Fuel (Kingston, ON), Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC), Stride Gallery (Calgary, AB), Eastern Edge (St. John’s, NL), Centre[3] (Hamilton, ON), Eyelevel Gallery (Halifax, NS), Art Gallery of Guelph (Guelph, ON).

Michael Abel is an artist, architect, and designer living and working in New York City. Abel received his BFA from the University of Calgary (2012), attended the San Rocco Summer School at the University of Genoa (2013), and completed a Masters of Architecture at the University of Toronto (2016). Abel’s solo and group exhibitions include ArtPoint Gallery (Calgary), AC Repair Co (Toronto), Truck Gallery (Calgary), Xpace Cultural Centre (Toronto), and Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (Toronto). In 2016, Abel received a Graham Foundation Grant for his work editing Place-Holder, a journal exploring art and architectural production in the age of network culture. From 2015-2018 Abel worked for MOS Architects and now works on masterplans, stage sets, furniture, products, paintings, and books.

Conversation Respondent Essay by Sara Fruchtman