Coming to an end

The last class of that semester was a ‘science fair’. Each group had a table with its project. The classroom had the same visual identity created by Antonio – a visitor scholar from the University of Naples, Italy - for the Harlem Collaboration Project. The studio walls had banners explaining the context and goals of the course. A folder specially designed for the event had the narrative of the design research process and the description of all projects. The atmosphere was very professional. The director of the program, Jamer Hunt, came to the exhibition, other professors from the department and partners from Harlem were also there to prestige the students.

Everybody was enjoying the conclusion of the semester. We raised some old questions that followed us the whole semester, like the issue of authority in designers practice. And was good to discuss them when we concluded the learning cycle. It felt that we learned by practicing and experiencing.

I was feeling contented with my adventure, but at the same time I was starting to get distant from Harlem and from that studio in the 12th floor of the building at 6E 16th street.

As foreseen by our group after a few weeks there wasn’t a transition of ownership of the Harlem Youth Forum project from us to Harlem’s community. The short afterlife the project had was when a member of the Department of Youth and Community Development reached us out to talk about our idea. The contact came through Katie but it didn’t take long for us exchange the continuity of the project for holidays and vacation. We were leaving the field, Harlem and the Forum. The beginning of winter and the end of the project gave me a hint of melancholy, after six months immersed in that context I was growing apart from it.