WHEN WE GATHER: DISCUSSION WITH MIRA HENRY AND MATTHEW AU
June 24, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
In Collaboration With
California African American Museum
Mira Henry and Matthew Au of Current Interests, an LA-based architectural design studio, will discuss their recent book, Gathering: Ongoing Work by Current Interests. Presented in conjunction with J. Yolande Daniels: To A Future Space -Time, this talk will reflect on Current Interests’s past projects and explore the historical, archaeological, and material layers of the built environment.
For this event Henry and Au will share a collection of close readings of existing buildings and infrastructure in the Leimert Park and Jefferson Park neighborhoods. The focus will be on a set of micro histories that surround two local Paul R Williams buildings – one a bank, and the other a church. Delivered as a visual narrative, this performance-based talk offers informal methods for attending to place and collecting stories within the context of the everyday.
Speakers
Mira’s formal research and writing focus on architecture, race, and materiality. She is a registered architect and is the recipient of the 2019 Architectural League Prize, Henry Adams AIA Award, and Archiprix International Gold Medal. Mira holds a Bachelor in Art History from the University of Chicago
and a Master of Architecture from UCLA.
Matthew’s academic work is deeply influenced by the history of conceptual art practice as he examines the spaces and tools of production, and the lines of communication that connect the worlds of design and building. He holds a Bachelor in Studio Art and Art History from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture.
Links + Resources
Current Interests is an architecture and design studio founded by Matthew Au and Mira Henry. As a creative collaboration, Current Interests’ built work is grounded in notions of material specificity, color relationships, assembly details, and an engagement in critical cultural thinking. Matthew and Mira are design faculty at Southern California Institute for Architecture and have visiting faculty appointments at Princeton University and Harvard Graduate School of Design.
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Fri
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This event has passed, WATCH THE ARCHIVED LIVESTREAM
Fri
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FIRST FRIDAYS EDUCATION TOUR: TO A FUTURE SPACE-TIME (JUNE 2025)