Affirm The Positive

“Affirm the Positive" is an exploration into the concept of architectural space and culture as a means to navigate how Black bodies activate their surroundings. Public spaces are intended to be places of repose for all, yet many fail to achieve this goal in Black and Latinx communities. As a result, community members may experience social anxiety or disconnect while in public. However, despite these potentially paralyzing disadvantages, a positive culture has sprouted within these communities. Craig L. Wilkins, an architectural theorist, says “A space reveals the environment as not immutable, and with that realization urban communities immediately ‘become spaces of possibilities’, not predetermined holding pens for the urban unfortunate.” These spaces of possibilities are what continue to inspire my current series.