Rising Together: The Black Experience with Police in America
Visual Identity, Exhibition, Architecture
An immersive community space at Google’s New York headquarters that interrogates police violence against Black Americans
Creating a space for racial discourse in the tech field
In 2019, Isometric collaborated with Google on the design of an immersive exhibition that narrates the Black American experience with police through ethnographic vignettes, historical context, and carefully-curated data. Part of Google’s ongoing work to investigate the role of technology in creating safer communities, the exhibition was an interactive report that summarized two years of research. To situate the findings in the context of lived experiences, we traveled across America to gather original photography and narratives, consulting with the Google team to develop a thoughtful and nuanced architectural framework that inspired critical reflection and discourse. In 2020, we built on this work to write and design a self-initiated Policing Primer, interrogating the racism embedded in institutions of policing, schools, courts, and prisons.
Exhibition Fabrication and Installation by South Side Design & Building.
Right: 2016 Election Poster, Courtesy of Bobby C. Martin Jr. / Original Champions of Design
Isometric conducted original photography and interviews in Oakland, Atlanta, and Washington D.C.
Right: 2016 Election Poster, Courtesy of Bobby C. Martin Jr. / Original Champions of Design
Engaging with a harrowing topic
To convey the intersection of the complex historical and contemporary factors that culminate in unnecessary profiling and excessive violence against Black Americans, we created a conceptual public square where interviewees’ own narratives could be presented with care. Images and text were direct-printed on Birch plywood panels, held together by wooden framing and stabilized by metal wire. A community table in the center encouraged people to process the knowledge together, to begin to find the vocabulary to address this painful issue in meaningful ways, and to become better allies and advocates.
