Sound and Color: The Future of Race in Design

How does race become embedded in design vocabularies? “Sound and Color: The Future of Race in Design,” a creative symposium, design convention, exhibition, and mentorship event, took place at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan in January 2023 to address how race enters visual storytelling. Co-organized by Tavia Nyong’o and Jane Cox, the symposium included a panel sponsored by creativeX that featured Stacey Derosier, Itohan Edoloyi, Alan Edwards, and Alejandro Fajardo. The participants spoke about the art and craft of stage lighting and their experiences navigating a career in lighting design. Their conversation touched on diverse topics such as cultural appropriation, the symbolism of darkness and light in Western culture, racial inequities in technology, and how human bodies are represented onstage. Attended by more than 650 people over the course of the event’s two days, the symposium celebrated a generational shift in attitudes toward design and facilitated conversations between theater designers, fine artists, and those at the forefront of the performing arts.