Hope Meets Action Meets Design

By Chris O’Connor Learning Program Developer

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Designer Rodney Hazard Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum is currently on display in the Pocket Gallery of the Royal BC Museum. Later, it will be shown throughout British Columbia as a travelling exhibition. The exhibition is the story of Afro-diasporic “British Columbia” history, past, present and future. In the last edition of What’s InSight, I sat down with the curator and writer of the exhibition, Joshua Robertson, and president of the BC Black History Awareness Society, Silvia Mangue Alene. For this edition, I sit down with the designer of the exhibition, Rodney Hazard. Part of what makes the exhibition so powerful is the innovative and thoughtful design choices, which provide a colourful and vibrant container for a richly textured and vital story. (continues next page)

Chris O’Connor: Rodney, can you tell me a little bit about your process of becoming a designer?

Rodney Hazard: Since I was a kid I was always an artist, I was always drawing myself to sleep, always trying to express myself in one way or another. I used to draw a lot of anime characters, draw a lot of things from observation. I also took a lot of art classes in high school. And it was actually one of my older cousins that kind of showed me you could take this and do something with it. He went to school to study graphic design— he was doing a lot of the same things I was looking to do. So, I was like, “oh, I can take this art thing and make it into something.” Fast forward, I went to St. John's University in Queens, and from there I started learning about different types of design. I became really passionate about it and found ways to apply it to how it has to do with people. Design led me to a lot of different paths. I was always making music in parallel, I was interested in film in parallel. Design was a way for me to bridge the gap between all of these things.

CO: Who are some designers or styles that inspire you?

RH: I was always the type to look for a lot of contemporary design and seek out ways where people are breaking rules, if you know what I mean. There are a lot of interesting studios and designers out there, like Pyer Moss, Daniel Arsham and Jessica Walsh, who won’t just take type and put to a page, they’ll take the material and turn it into an experience. Very interesting perceptions and approaches to design. I’ve always been interested in design with some sort of human touch, and I think that's how to make it feel less mechanical and more relatable.

CO: Can you talk a little bit about your company, how you approach working with clients, and how you work to further your style?

RH: I have a company called Le Loup Studios, and it's a creative agency based out of Brooklyn in New York City. We specialize in creating bespoke visual solutions that normally go through the lanes of design, film or music. My process always starts by saying, “Okay, what's the human-first approach that we can take?” I always try to deconstruct things and look at the big picture. Instead of asking what, I ask why, in order to find the creative strategy behind things, to find out what people actually want to see, what people actually care about. I think we're at a place in the world where it's all about connectivity, you know, what's the human condition and how can we make it better?

Rodney Hazard, designer of Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum.

CO: I imagine part of that is building those relationships early on with your clients so you can know who they are and who their users are, often in a short period of time. With that in mind, you are based out of Brooklyn, and the Royal BC Museum is here in Victoria. What has that process been like for you to work from a distance, with the BC Black History Awareness Society and the Royal BC Museum?

RH: It's engaging, you know. I think it's very important work, and I love doing work like this, because I see myself as a student. I'm always learning new things, and even though the content of the exhibition is about the Black experience in British Columbia, and it isn't exactly my experience, it's still a shared experience. I really resonate with that and know how important it is to the community to have this exhibition happen, for them to be represented through their voices, in a human-centred way. I'm learning so much, and I'm excited to celebrate the community in the way that needs to be heard.

Afrofuturism

A cultural movement that uses the frame of science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of the African diaspora and to invoke a vision of a hopeful future in which Black people thrive: this movement is expressed through art, cinema, literature, music, fashion, etc.

Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum Pocket Gallery exhibition.

CO: Where do museums fall short, and where do they hold potential?

RH: I do think museums in general should definitely collaborate with the community in the way we are doing it with this project. I think that this is very interesting, and though I've seen examples of it, I haven’t seen many. Often museums feel like they are gatekeepers, and it's hard to break through. I think that in this way, a lot of museums fall short. When you see things like our project happen, though, where communities are engaged with actually creating the exhibitions, you end up with something really beautiful, unique, compelling, true and authentic. Museums should look at what we did and do it more often.

CO: And as a last question, and in particular with our Hope Meets Action exhibition, what were some of the main design concepts you used during your process?

RH: I think one of the main design concepts that has resonated with everyone is the idea of deconstruction, and deconstruction of the map of “British Columbia.” I wanted to bring it back to what it was like when it was just Indigenous territories. And then using that to inform the design language across the different areas of the exhibition. I have also been using some elements of Afrofuturism in the design: opal colours, big beautiful type, very bold in order to celebrate the culture. As well, the font was designed by a Black designer named Frank Adebiaye. I wanted to make sure that the design brought forward the key insights of the process and research that Josh, the writer and curator, did.

CO: Well, you definitely did that. Amazing work. Thanks, Rodney.

RH: Thank you.

A RT W O RK BY S ADE ALEX I S

Hope Meets Action

Echoes Through the Black Continuum

Extended until March 31, 2022 Clifford Carl Hall Learn more at rbcm.ca/pocketgallery