Stella Nair, alumni fellow (2003-06) and associate professor of art history and American Indian studies at UCLA, co-organized The Forgotten Canopy, a conference convening scholars on the topics of “Ecology,” “Ephemeral Architecture,” and “Imperialism.” The first summit was held at UCLA where scholars engaged with community-based workshops and panels to analyze the interconnectivity of adaptive architecture, the environment, and creativity across the Atlantic region during the 16th to 19th centuries. “It (ephemeral architecture) is not something that architecture scholarship tends to emphasize; it emphasizes the monumental and the permanent,” Nair said. “These things are deeply embedded in ecological practices and change and also very much impacted by imperial practices.” Read on for additional event recap details from the conference, which was covered by the Daily Bruin.
The Forgotten Canopy: Ecology, Ephemeral Architecture, and Imperialism in the Caribbean, South American, and Transatlantic Worlds
