Deborah Garcia
Residency Director
It is with great pleasure that the Board of Directors announces the appointment of designer, researcher, and educator Deborah Garcia as Residency Director at the IPA. Garcia, who steps into the role this summer, joins the IPA at an exciting moment of growth. Her work in sonic spatial activation and public architectural installations, alongside the development of interdisciplinary research and pedagogy, will inform the evolution of the Residency program meaningful ways.
Deborah Garcia was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is an innovative architectural critic and spatial activator focused on transforming our interaction with everyday spaces to reshape economic, cultural, and narrative structures. Her explorations have led her around the globe, examining the interplay between sensory experiences, communal narratives, and systemic feedback loops. She was the recipient of the Princeton University Butler Traveling Fellowship and has held residencies at MASS MoCA, ARTFarm Nebraska, and more. In 2019, she participated in the Arctic Circle Expedition in Svalbard, Norway, further expanding her international research scope. Deborah also held curatorial roles at A+D Architecture and Design Museum and One Night Stand for Art and Architecture-LA. She holds a Bachelors of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and a Masters of Architecture from Princeton University.
Photo Credit: Malakhai Pearson, supported by Harvard ArtLab
Her recent work at MIT as the 2021 Marion Mahony Emerging Practitioner Fellow involved radical integration of sound in architectural design, leading the SOUND STUDIO, and creating the RECORDAR system for spatial sound recording and broadcasting. Her work has been exhibited at the Harvard ArtLab, Lichen Design Incubator and Showroom, Exhibit Columbus, MIT Keller Gallery, and more. Her methods seek to reveal and influence underlying psychic and institutional spaces, fostering a continuous engagement with collective consciousness linked to our environments. Deborah also teaches at the Yale School of Architecture.
“My eyes have always been turned to where no one is looking — or to the things we can’t see or put name to. My work with sound and space is about amplifying what lies below and, even at a molecular level, to shake the structures that be.” Garcia said. “ I am excited to work alongside the radical explorers that take part in this unique residency program. The art of communal living and the lessons of communal experience are the future. This is a place to test those ideas. To live on this island is to rethink something much larger— to rethink our very approach to living together.”
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Photo credit: Carolina Salazar
“We are delighted to invite Deborah to join the IPA family! Her valuable experience as a creator and curator brings new perspectives to the Residency program and I am personally thrilled to be working together. Welcome Deborah!”
-Janet Fink, Executive Director
You can learn more about Deborah’s work here.
Deborah Garcia was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is an innovative architectural critic and spatial activator focused on transforming our interaction with everyday spaces to reshape economic, cultural, and narrative structures. Her explorations have led her around the globe, examining the interplay between sensory experiences, communal narratives, and systemic feedback loops. She was the recipient of the Princeton University Butler Traveling Fellowship and has held residencies at MASS MoCA, ARTFarm Nebraska, and more. In 2019, she participated in the Arctic Circle Expedition in Svalbard, Norway, further expanding her international research scope. Deborah also held curatorial roles at A+D Architecture and Design Museum and One Night Stand for Art and Architecture-LA. She holds a Bachelors of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and a Masters of Architecture from Princeton University.
Her recent work at MIT as the 2021 Marion Mahony Emerging Practitioner Fellow involved radical integration of sound in architectural design, leading the SOUND STUDIO, and creating the RECORDAR system for spatial sound recording and broadcasting. Her work has been exhibited at the Harvard ArtLab, Lichen Design Incubator and Showroom, Exhibit Columbus, MIT Keller Gallery, and more. Her methods seek to reveal and influence underlying psychic and institutional spaces, fostering a continuous engagement with collective consciousness linked to our environments. Deborah also teaches at the Yale School of Architecture.
“My eyes have always been turned to where no one is looking — or to the things we can’t see or put name to. My work with sound and space is about amplifying what lies below and, even at a molecular level, to shake the structures that be.” Garcia said. “ I am excited to work alongside the radical explorers that take part in this unique residency program. The art of communal living and the lessons of communal experience are the future. This is a place to test those ideas. To live on this island is to rethink something much larger— to rethink our very approach to living together.”
Photo credit: Carolina Salazar
“We are delighted to invite Deborah to join the IPA family! Her valuable experience as a creator and curator brings new perspectives to the Residency program and I am personally thrilled to be working together. Welcome Deborah!”
-Janet Fink, Executive Director
You can learn more about Deborah’s work here.
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