In Their Own Dreams: Architectural Process through The National Museum of the American Indian
- Dagny Elise Carlsson
- Graduate Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Weitzman School of Design
-
Student Creative Production Grant
In Their Own Dreams is an interview project highlighting the profound role Indigenous communities played in reshaping both architectural practice and museology through their involvement in the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). When envisioning the museum, architects met with dozens of Indigenous communities across North America; the collected dialogues are unprecedented in scale and approach. Yet, many of the materials generated during this process—including audio recordings, transcripts, and photographs—remain in deep storage, largely inaccessible to the public and underutilized by scholars. Working with the University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives, Dagny Elise Carlsson will surface, digitize, and interpret these documents, drawing attention to Indigenous contributions that have long been obscured. In doing so, Carlsson’s project preserves fragile historical sources and brings them into conversation with contemporary debates about decolonization in architecture and museums.
https://decarlsson.cargo.site/