Assistant Professor Aziza Chaouni spoke this past Saturday, April 20 at Northwestern University’s Block Museum as part of the panel discussion “The Modern Capital: City, Utopia  or Spectacle?”. Other panelists included Marshall Brown, architect and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology; Thomas Hussey, associate director, Skidmore Owings & Merrill; David Van Zanten, curator and professor of art history, Northwestern University. The panel moderator was Alison Fisher, assistant curator, department of architecture and design, The Art Institute of Chicago. The discussion focused on the grand utopic visions that inspired the design of cities from Chicago to Panama City to Marrakesh.

Aziza Chaouni is curating the upcoming exhibition Crossing Borders – Design Responses to Global Issues in the Developing World which will showcase work that illustrates the active role that designers can play in conceiving sustainable strategies within communities in the developing world. The opening reception will be on Thursday, May 9 from 5 pm – 8:30 pm.