Walter Hood: Exploring the Low Country

The Phillips Community and the International African American Museum
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African Ancestors Memorial Garden at the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina (2023) by Hood Design Studio. Photo: Esto Images/Sahar Coston-Hardy

Join MacArthur Fellow Walter Hood for a lecture on the design of the African Ancestors Memorial Garden at the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina. This lecture will explore the rich heritage of the Phillips Gullah Geechee community and its profound connection to the low country landscape—a history deeply intertwined with the sacred site at Gadsden's Wharf, where many enslaved Africans first arrived from West Africa. Hood will discuss how the memorial garden honors this cultural legacy within the broader narrative of African American experiences and contributions in the region.

The lecture is presented with Walter Hood's exhibition Native(s) in the Campbell Elmaleh Gallery, February 3–April 13.

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Photos courtesy Hood Design Studio
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Hood Design Studio_International African American Museum_Charleston SC

About the Designer

Walter Hood

Photo: Adrienne Eberhardt

Walter J. Hood, a multidisciplinary designer from Charlotte, NC, is globally recognized for his contributions in art, landscape architecture, urbanism, and research. Founding Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA in 1992, he now leads as its creative director. Walter’s academic journey began at North Carolina A&T State University in architectural engineering. He then transitioned to their pioneering landscape architecture program, graduating in its first class in 1981. Further studies led him to the University of California, Berkeley. His passion for landscape and urbanism emerges from its broad, democratic scope, allowing experiences beyond architectural constraints. Infusing African American cultural arts into his philosophy, he established a unique voice, reshaping spaces to reflect contemporary needs without erasing their history. A professor at UC Berkeley and former Harvard educator, Walter penned “Black Landscapes Matter” and has received accolades such as the 2019 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2021 Architectural League’s President’s Medal award, and the 2024 Vincent Scully Prize.
 


Supported by the UVA School of Architecture's Office of the Dean, the Thaler Endowment, UVA Arts, the Office of the Provost, and the Vice Provost for the Arts.

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