Photos: Open Access Reception

Every archive has its ghosts. And on October 8, Van Alen’s past and present came together to celebrate Open Access: Exploring 130 Years of American Design. For this exhibition, five artists and design teams worked directly with our historic materials to ask: what does this archive tell us about who design has served, and who has it erased?

From sonic installations summoning uncredited voices to core samples grounding architecture in land history, these works treat the archive as living material — something to be questioned, reinterpreted, and held accountable. You are invited to explore the exhibition with curiosity and skepticism, knowing the story of who shapes our cities is still being written.

Participants

• Annie Barrett, Daniel Pittman, and Paula Vilaplana de Miguel
• Kholisile Dhliwayo
• Friends Making Work
• PROPS SUPPLY
• Gillian Waldo

Exhibition team

• Exhibition design: NOT NOT
• Graphic design: Studio Loutsis
• Fabrication: Kurt Brosnan, East Hill Digital Fabrication

Open Access is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Material support is provided by METALSISTEM, TALAS, K-array, Qualia Forge, Sharp, and TAD.