centered offers a rich, inclusive, and contemporary look at design diversity, both past and present, through essays, interviews, and images curated by design educator and advocate kaleena sales. as the design industry challenges its eurocentric foundations and reassesses conventional practices, centered highlights the voices, places, methods, ideas, and beliefs that have been overshadowed or excluded by dominant design movements. with thirteen thought-provoking essays and interviews, this volume features underrepresented and impactful design work, both historical and contemporary.

• includes works such as gee's bend quilters by stephen child and isabella d'agnenica and a chinese typographic archiveby yujune park and caspar lam.
• features an interview with sadie red wing (her shawl is yellow) on indigenous sovereignty and design.
• explores diverse and often overlooked design movements like the truck art of india by shantanu suman.

centered is an essential read for anyone passionate about diversity in design and the importance of elevating marginalized voices and practices in shaping the future of the field.

carrie mae weems has often confronted the uncomfortable truths of racism and race relations over the course of her nearly 40-year career. in The Shape of Things, she focuses her unflinching gaze at what she describes as the circus-like quality of contemporary american political life. for this new work, weems created a seven-part film projected onto a cyclorama―a panoramic-style cylindrical screen that dates to the 19th century―where she addresses the turmoil of current events in the United States and the “long march forward.”

drawing on news and tv footage from the civil rights era to today, elements of previous films such as the madding crowd (2017) and new film projects that bring us into our tumultuous present, the films in The Shape of Things combine documentary directness with poetic rhythm to create an enveloping experience.

carrie mae weems (born 1953) has received numerous awards, grants and fellowships, and is represented in public and private collections around the world, including the metropolitan museum of art, new york; the museum of fine arts, houston; and the museum of modern art and the museum of contemporary art, los angeles. weems lives in brooklyn and syracuse, new york.