Friedman Benda announces Design in Dialogue, a series of online interviews hosted by curator and historian Glenn Adamson. Join leading voices from the field—designers, makers, critics, and curators—as they discuss their work and ideas. Conversations are held on Zoom for 45 minutes + 15 minutes participatory Q&A, beginning at 11am Eastern Standard Time, three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
“I have spent the past few days in shock watching what is happening in this country. I have spent time with my staff and determined that for this week we will only be focusing on messages in Solidarity with the Black community. I won't be posting any of my work this week, rather I'll be focusing on Black creators and voices whose work has influenced my world. Given that, I'm afraid I don't think this is the right week for me to talk about design or to discuss anything other than what is happening.”
Future guests will include:
Monday June 8: Mark McDonald, the legendary design dealer rightly described by the New York Times as “Mr. Modernism,” will share stories from his pioneering career at Fifty/50 gallery and beyond. We’ll focus particularly on his work with Frank Lloyd Wright, Ray Eames, Leza McVey, Sam Kramer and Art Smith.
Wednesday June 10: Gaetano Pesce may well be the most influential living designer. Since the 1960s he has originated numerous strategies that are now pervasive in the discipline, including speculative design, mass customization, and figurative architecture. We’ll speak with the great provocateur about his long and fascinating career, and get his thoughts on the challenges of the present moment.
Friday June 12: Leo Warner, founding director of 59 Productions, will reveal the process behind his firm’s multidisciplinary design work—from the blockbuster V&A exhibition “David Bowie Is,” to architectural projections and theatrical productions, to new horizons in the domain of virtual reality.
To watch past episode recordings, please click the caption of each episode, or access the recordings from the links below or our YouTube channel:
Episode 10: Alexandra Cunningham Cameron
Episode 12: Alice Stori Liechtenstein & Marlène Huissoud
Episode 15: Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn
Episode 16: Monica Obniski, Darrin Alfred, Bobbye Tigerman
