About

We are designers and artists interested in the collaborative and collective needs of adapting our cities and ourselves to climate change. This is an open-access project, focused on the power of collective, incremental action. If you would like to work with us to build the collection, or host public workshops, please reach out.

History

In 2016, Beth and Sara were Arts Incubator Fellows in New Zealand, where they developed the first version of this project, researching and testing new field tools used to read and measure the environment as it changed. This work has continued through community workshops and engagements, and now to this more comprehensive approach to tools for the warming planet.

In 2022, they teamed up with Marina to adapt the project for Barcelona’s local culture of food justice and activism. From there, they have started together to build a framework for local projects from around the world which are meeting these challenges.

The project is now expanding through partnerships with institutions and communities to become a set of tools for imagining the future, as well as our archive of existing solutions. Stay tuned for more information on these new developments.

Founding Members

​Sara Dean is an architect and designer in the Bay Area. She is an assistant professor at California College of the Arts, and founder of IF/THEN Studio. Her work investigates opportunities of digital technologies to engage cities towards greater equity and adaptability, under the dual threat of the Anthropocene and capitalism. This includes works on climate disaster, the share economy, digital activism, mapping, and the future of our cities.

Beth Ferguson is assistant professor in the University of California, Davis Department of Design. She is an artist and ecological designer whose practice blends industrial design with sustainable transportation, solar engineering, climate resiliency, and public engagement. Ferguson is the director of Sol Design Lab​ and the founding director of the Adapting City Lab.  

Marina Monsonís is a visual artist and the facilitator of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art Kitchen Lab from Barcelona, Spain. She works with social movements and international public art projects rooted in history, culture, food, ecology, and place, including Geographies Borrada (Erased Geographies). She has worked on a variety of community art and education projects related to marine sciences, collective mapping, street art, food experimentation, oral history, and biohacking.