Mabel O. Wilson: Begin with the Past

Lecture by Mabel O. Wilson (‘91 M.Arch), Columbia GSAPP Associate Professor discussing her book, Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Rising on the National Mall next to the Washington Monument, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a tiered bronze beacon inviting everyone to learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience and how it helped shape this nation. Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture is the story of how this unparalleled museum found its place in the nation’s collective memory and on its public commons.

Mabel O. Wilson teaches architectural design and history/theory courses at Columbia GSAPP. She is also appointed as a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Research in African American Studies and co-directs Global Africa Lab. Her design and scholarly research investigates space, politics and cultural memory in black America; race and modern architecture; new technologies and the social production of space; and visual culture in contemporary art, film and new media.

Part of the Arguments Lecture Series organized by the M.S. Advanced Architectural Design program.