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's writing has appeared in The Common, DIAGRAM, Interim, Opt West, Tyger Quarterly, TYPO, and other journals. She’s earned degrees in architecture and creative writing and has worked as an educator, as well as in design or editorial capacities for a number of periodicals, small presses, and writers. Originally from New York’s Capital Region, she lives now in New York City, where she works as a bookseller and stationer. She is also the design editor of Seneca Review.
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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.
