In order to survive and develop, humans form social groups of varying scales: family, community, nation and state. Some of these groups, which contain one another, are based on blood relations while others are based on imagined relationships which provide for the individual’s need to associate with others. Together, these groups constitute society.
This human tendency to form groups is intimately related to both space and time. Thus, the human environment is both the generator and the outcome of the society which inhabits it.
The HIT Society & Environment Studio deals with interrelations among social phenomena on the one hand, and spatial configurations on the other. During the studio, we will methodically analyze social groups with a view to understanding how they constitute and reinforce their identity, their daily performance in a given environment and the tools they use to promote their cultural goals (ideology).
This observation and analysis process will culminate in applying the products of our research to the creation of an identity-dependent living environment for specific social groups – a community-based public structure.
The Society & Environment Studio has been running as part of the Jesse Cohen Project. This project, envisioned by the Digital Art Lab, seeks to explore how art can take part in change processes on the neighborhood and city-wide scale by partnering and collaborating with municipal, governmental and private institutes and stakeholders, rather than supplanting them.
The specific sites selected throughout the Jesse Cohen Neighborhood represent a variety of urban, physical and social issues which serve to broaden the discussion and allow a general and multi-layered perspective on things. The artwork presented at the exhibit reflect the underlying academic process, shed light on essential issues in the current design discourse and invite discussion on the designer’s role as a cultural agent.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
