CoDesign Collaborative

A moving experience yesterday co-hosting the debut of our new Field Trip series with Misstropolis ✨championing ideas in contemporary art. Thank you to everyone who joined us at Project Space—an impressive new gallery space with collaboration from Robert Klein Gallery and Sea-Dar Construction—to hear Rania Matar رانية مطر speak about her powerful exhibition, “Where Do I Go?”

Rania’s portraits capture women and girls in Lebanon through beauty and resilience. Her images remind us of the profound strength that persists in the face of immense adversity and displacement.

We are so proud to partner on initiatives like this that bring our creative community together for impactful, behind-the-scenes conversations. Save the date: Our next Field Trip with Misstropolis ✨championing ideas in contemporary art takes us to MIT with MATTER on October 13! Visit the link in our bio for details and to join us.

Photos from yesterday’s talk at Project Space (580 Harrison Ave).

Have you heard? CoDesign Collaborative is launching a new social series. Salon for Design Leaders will pilot on September 29 at Illuminate Boston. The program aims to foster a network of collaboration and insight among senior design professionals.

Our first Salon, facilitated by Beneficent CEO Amy Heymans, will focus on Design, Dignity, and ethical considerations for designing a better world. Through discussion and shared experiences, participants will explore current challenges facing creative teams, design’s evolving role, and emerging solutions for navigating a rapidly changing landscape.

Tickets are $35 for Members & Partners and $50 for not-yet-Members. Registration directly supports CoDesign Collaborative’s mission and programming.

https://lnkd.in/gWq4g5ka

On October 5, join Ryan Swanson Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman Maeghann Coleman, founders of the multidisciplinary studio The Urban Conga (recently featured in Fast Company), for a 30-minute CoDesign LIVE lightning talk exploring “play as power.” Drawing from The Urban Conga’s feature article in Unfold: The Dissent Issue, Ryan and Maeghann will share real-world case studies demonstrating how playful interventions—from custom park ping-pong tables to interactive soundscapes—transform underutilized public spaces into democratic “PLAYces.”

FREE for Members / $5 for not-yet-Members. Register through the 🔗 in bio. Ticket sales directly support CoDesign Collaborative’s mission and programming.

On October 5, join Ryan Swanson Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman Maeghann Coleman, founders of the multidisciplinary studio The Urban Conga, (recently featured in Fast Company) for a 30-minute CoDesign LIVE lightning talk exploring “play as power.” Drawing from The Urban Conga’s feature article in Unfold: The Dissent Issue, Ryan and Maeghann will share real-world case studies demonstrating how playful interventions—from custom park ping-pong tables to interactive soundscapes—transform underutilized public spaces into democratic “PLAYces.”

FREE for Members / $5 for not-yet-Members. Register through the 🔗 in bio. Ticket sales directly support CoDesign Collaborative’s mission and programming.

Have you heard? CoDesign Collaborative is launching a new social series. Salon for Design Leaders will pilot on September 29 at the Illuminate showroom in . The program aims to foster a network of collaboration and insight among senior design professionals.

Our first Salon, facilitated by Beneficent CEO Amy Heymans, will focus on Design, Dignity, and ethical considerations for designing a better world. Through discussion and shared experiences, participants will explore current challenges facing creative teams, design’s evolving role, and emerging solutions for navigating a rapidly changing landscape.

Tickets are $35 for Members & Partners and $50 for not-yet-Members. Registration directly supports CoDesign Collaborative’s mission and programming.

https://lnkd.in/gWq4g5ka

On September 22, CoDesign Collaborative is going behind the scenes with renowned photographer Rania Matar for a private viewing of her exhibition, “Where Do I Go?” Register today while space is available ✨ 🔗 in bio.

Trained originally as an , Rania Matar رانية مطر pays close attention to the emotional resonance of built environments. Working collaboratively with women of different generations and backgrounds, Matar constructs portraits that blur the line between documentation and shared testimony. Many of the photographs unfold within abandoned hotels, aging theaters, fractured apartments, and religious spaces scarred by decades of conflict and political uncertainty. The portraits are her love letters to the women of Lebanon.

Organized for CoDeCo by Misstropolis ✨championing ideas in contemporary art as part of a new series of Field Trips, this visit will explore the intersection of , , and

New Member Spotlight ✨ Jess Klay is Workplace Consultant for Red Thread, a designer, and a creative with more than 20 years of experience shaping environments where people and organizations can thrive. She is also a longtime member of CoDesign Collaborative and an active advisor of the organization’s mission and programming through her role on the Advisory Council. Meet and connect with Jess through the 🔗 in our bio!

Meet CoDeCo Member Kim Bache. Kim is a Portland-based community organizer, facilitator, and crystal merchant who speaks personally and passionately about the role of design in shaping community. Read Kim’s story through the 🔗 in our bio.

We are excited to introduce this new Member Spotlight series, platforming the vibrant community of thinkers, creators, and social impact advocates behind CoDesign Collaborative.

Share your story or nominate a fellow Member / 🔗 in bio.

Heat is not the great equalizer. Heat disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities trapped in urban heat islands. By designing with communities rather than for them, lived experience becomes expertise. From shade equity master plans in California to community-led cooling committees in Texas, resilience strategies work best when they are co-created by the people who need them most.

Read the latest from CoDesign Perspectives, Redesigning Heat Resilience From the Block Up, through the link in our bio.

CommunityResilience