Kirin J. Makker is Professor of American Studies at Hobart William Smith Colleges. An artist trained as an architect, and a scholar in critical space theory, Makker works to bridge disciplines and their methods of producing knowledge. At her institution, she teaches courses which investigate social power and architectural spaces. She combines traditional scholarship with creative practice in hand drawing, sewing, and installation art. Her research on these topics takes several forms, including designing and leading participatory art projects, exhibiting solo artworks, and producing scholarly writing on women’s and black history in design and urban planning.
The Womb Chair Speaks draws partially on her personal history with the pelvic inflammatory disease endometriosis. Makker originally conceived of the Womb Chair Speaks project and is its primary point person.
Abigail M. Frederick is the design editor for the Seneca Review and publicity assistant for author Sejal Shah. She has worked as an intern for Ploughshares and studied urbanism in Berlin, Germany. She recently graduated with degrees in architectural studies and English from Hobart and William Smith colleges. She reads as a volunteer for The Common and her writing has appeared in the New Delta Review and The Common.
E. Ainsley Rhodes is a spatially-oriented thinker and observer who is currently exploring the field of landscape architecture. She works as a marketing coordinator and designer at Landscape Architecture Bureau (LAB), a Washington, DC-based landscape architecture firm that specializes in solving design problems in highly urbanized contexts. She prefers looking at spatial design through an interdisciplinary lens, informed by her studies in architectural design, studio art, environmental studies, and sociology throughout her time at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
