Feminisms: 1974 to Now

Curated by Mimi Zeiger (M. Arch ‘98)

This is a playlist of women: designers, architects, theorists, artists, historians; and—perhaps more importantly—a playlist representing feminist thought and dialogue at SCI-Arc.

Throughout the decades, with varying degrees of amplification in-between, there has been a steady interest in the powerful ways that feminist outlooks shape our work and our world. From a 1974 lecture by graphic designer Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, who cofounded the Women’s Building in Los Angeles, to Beatriz Colomina’s breakthrough rereading of the battle between Le Corbusier and Eileen Gray, to Esther Choi’s use of a cookbook to undermine art and architecture’s sacred cows, these videos communicate bold design principles that go beyond gender: collectivity and creativity, equity and humor.

Mimi Zeiger is a Los Angeles-based critic, editor, and curator. She was co-curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and curator of Soft Schindler at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture. She has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Architectural Review, Metropolis, and Architect and is an opinion columnist for Dezeen.