ISAPD Membership Gallery
February 2024
FIRST FUTURE PROJECT: MODEL MAKING COMPETITION
The First Future Project (FFP) celebrates and expands on Indigenous architectural principles firmly rooted in the tracking of natural phenomena and celestial events. Indigenous peoples around the world have been celebrating the solstice and equinox in a variety of ways since time immemorial to connect themselves with the seasonal cycles and acknowledge change. The intention of the year-long ISAPD project is to reawaken the relationship between people and natural cycles. Concluding in Spring 2024, the First Future Project aims to ignite an interest in reciprocal design informed by the first indigenous people and future indigenous people.
Celestial Narrative Award
Celestial Narrative Award
Project Title:
Mnidoo Mshiikenh
Project Description:
Mnidoo Mshiikenh showcases a future on the cedar-lined shores of my home island, Manitoulin Island. Giizisoo-Mazina'igan means 13 moons on the turtle's back in Anishinaabemowin and that is the Anishinaabe calendar. My vision for this project adhered to the theme of approaching architecture without reconciliation in mind and emphasizing the next generation. The Midewiwin, a sacred longhouse meant for togetherness and ceremony is included for collective retreat after a day doing working inside the Turtle Building. This model could serve as an alternative to current schools in North America or tribal childcare services.
Reagan Recollet (Wiikwemkoong):
Reagan Recollet is an AnishinaabeKwe who proudly calls Mnidoo Mnising (Manitoulin Island) her home. As an Odawa woman, she strives to incorporate the trade and other traditional elements into her craft. Reagan is of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and belongs to Ajiijaak Dodem (Crane Clan).
Being the granddaughter of an Indigenous boarding school survivor, she attributes the ability to be here and develop her artistry to her nokomis, Connie Recollet. Reagan is able to incorporate Anishinaabemowin into her art because of the unwavering passion her mishomis, George Jaach Trudeau, holds for his language as a teacher and speaker. When approaching the intersections of infrastructure, design, and community, Reagan Recollet seeks to amplify the unwillingness to use traditional life ways as a means for reconciliation.
Celestial Narrative Award Winner: Reagan Recollet (Wiikwemkoong)
Pleiades Reflected In Glass
Honorable Mention
Project Title:
Pleiades Reflected In Glass
Project Description:
This project is inspired by the Cherokee story of the Pleiades, “Origin of the Pleiades and Pine.” Seven boys, represented by the seven ceiling planks in the model, floated up into the sky after resenting/leaving their family homes. Of these boys, one fell back down to earth after his mother attempted to bring him back. This attempt left him buried in the ground, resulting in the sprouting of the pine tree. This growth is represented by the foliage on the facade of the model. The stained glass elevated on the front of the model displays the constellations with a reversed aerial view of the top of the model. My vision was to display the variation of nature through color, materiality, and storytelling.
Leah Nicole Johnson (Cherokee):
Osiyo! Leah Nicole Johnson is an interior designer and practicing artist based out in the Pittsburgh area. She is of Afro-Indigenous descent, from the Cherokee and Pissaseck tribes of North Carolina. Graduating with her Bachelors in Interior Architecture, Johnson, practices creating space for underrepresented communities, through conference participation, speaking engagements, and volunteering! She is an active member of her local indigenous communities and contributes as an ally to the neighboring tribes. As an avid supporter of the arts, she has dedicated her time to advocacy, research, and reform, in and out of the Pittsburgh community. Her artistic mediums include stippling, charcoal, paint, and hand drafting.
Honorable Mention Winner: Leah Nicole Johnson (Cherokee)
June 2023
FIRST FUTURE PROJECT: CALL FOR INDIGENOUS VISIONARIES
As part of the First Future Project, supported by the
Fulcrum Fund, ISAPD is seeking contributions from Indigenous visionaries.
How do you celebrate the Fall Equinox? Does your community observe this day through harvesting or dancing? How do you mark the seasonal change? Do you have traditions involving crops or your dwellings? Do your relatives and community share stories?
