In Focus is a series of programs for learners enrolled in MoMA's Massive Open Online Courses on Coursera. These conversations are dedicated to taking a close look at a single artist, theme, or artwork.

For this session, instructors from Fashion as Design, What Is Contemporary Art?, and Reimagining Blackness and Architecture will be in conversation with architect Felecia Davis about the ways we use textiles and hair in our everyday lives. She will discuss her process for creating computational textiles (fabrics embedded with sensors and other electronics) and explore the inspirations underlying her forthcoming project about hair. The event will conclude with a Q&A session.

This event is free, open to all, and will take place over Zoom.

Felecia Davis is an architect and educator whose work connects art, science, engineering, and design. Her project Fabricating Networks was commissioned for Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America and examines the histories and possible futures of the Hill District neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

With her newest project Davis turns her attention to another material of everyday life: hair. Hair Salon: Translating Black Hair Practices for Architecture looks at the ways natural Black hair texture and styling practices like braiding, locking, and crocheting can help inspire and generate different building materials and architecture structures. Highlighting the links between technology and Black cultural practices, this new project will translate hair styles and practices into computational frameworks for building architectural structures.