On the occasion of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper of the design studio Stephen Burks Man Made are representing the United States as members of the curatorial design team in the presentation of Porch: An Architecture of Generosity at the US Pavilion. The studio’s mediation on the porch as a site of creativity, diversity and resistance takes the form of a number of handmade objects deeply rooted in vernacular craft techniques and typologies of the American South. These include Crafting Diversity in collaboration with Berea College Student Craft, Quilting a collaboration with the Gee’s Bend quilters and Italian fabric house Dedar, and Ancestors (Belonging) in collaboration with Friedman Benda. Completed during a residency at the Archie Bray Foundation for the ceramic arts, Ancestors (Belonging) builds upon the studio’s ongoing exploration of giving form to themes of ancestry, which extend beyond kinship ties to encompass wider social movements that influence and shape our sense of self and belonging.
