The Future of Public Space and Art: Tour of Harriet Tubman Square

Join us for an in-person tour in conjunction with The Future of Public Space and Art: New Perspectives, the second in a four-part lecture series on The Future of Public Space and Art. The series challenges us to discover better design strategies for the public realm that welcome all people.

Nina Cooke John, AIA, NOMA, the architect, artist, and creator of Harriet Tubman Square: Shadow of a Face will lead the tour and offer an in-depth look at the elements of her work. Cooke John has integrated what she calls the Pillars for the project—history, community engagement, and construction. The work features a circular learning wall that guides visitors through a multi-sensory experience where they can read educational text and hear stories about Tubman’s life and the city’s history of black liberation. Local historians provided the research material. The audio experience is performed by Queen Latifah. A community mosaic includes ceramic tiles created by Newark residents during a dozen workshops led by Cooke John and a Newark-based apprentice artist.

The series expands on the theme Belonging and Beyond, established earlier this year by 2024 AIANY President Gregory Switzer, AIA, NOMA. Belonging and Beyond centers on crucial aspects of human well-being that improve physical and social-emotional health and resilience for individuals and communities. This forum will explore noteworthy solutions that grow out of a robust exchange of interdisciplinary ideas, pointing to the future of public space and public art and their role in social equity.

Speaker:
Nina Cooke John, AIA, NOMA, Founding Principal, Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design

About the Speakers:
Nina Cooke John is the founding principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design, a multidisciplinary design studio that values placemaking as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment. Studio Cooke John’s Shadow of a Face, the new Harriet Tubman Monument in Newark, NJ, was unveiled in March 2023. The studio was awarded a 2021 AIA Merit Award for the public art installation, Point of Action, commissioned for the Flatiron public plazas in 2020 and currently on view at the Wassaic Project. Cooke John was named the AIANY New Perspectives honoree in 2024 and a 2022 United States Artists Fellow. Her work has also been featured in Architectural Record, The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Dwell, NBC’s Open House, and PBS NewsHour Weekend among other publications and news outlets. Cooke John earned her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University. She now teaches at Columbia University.