BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CoDesign Collaborative - ECPv6.6.4.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://codesigncollaborative.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for CoDesign Collaborative REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261005T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261005T133000 DTSTAMP:20260912T115515 CREATED:20260902T190113Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T190154Z UID:34669-1791205200-1791207000@codesigncollaborative.org SUMMARY:CoDesign LIVE: Play As Power with The Urban Conga DESCRIPTION:CoDesign LIVE: Play As Power with The Urban Conga\nJoin us for a virtual lightning talk exploring how open-ended play can disrupt control-oriented city structures\, flatten social hierarchies\, and cultivate spatial equity.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n © The Urban Conga \n \n \n \n \n \n Why is the word “play” so often met with resistance in urban design? \nOn October 5\, join Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman\, founders of the multidisciplinary studio The Urban Conga\, for a 30-minute CoDesign LIVE lightning talk exploring how open-ended play can disrupt control-oriented city structures\, flatten social hierarchies\, and cultivate spatial equity. \nDrawing from The Urban Conga’s feature article in Unfold: The Dissent Issue\, Ryan and Maeghann will share real-world case studies demonstrating how playful interventions—from custom park ping-pong tables to interactive soundscapes—transform underutilized public spaces into democratic “PLAYces.” \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Urban Conga is a Brooklyn\, NY-based award-winning multidisciplinary design studio led by Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman\, AIA. The studio is comprised of a diverse group of creatives focused on sparking community interaction and social activity through open-ended play. We achieve this by utilizing play methodologies as a critical tool implemented not just in the work itself but in the participatory design process in which the work is created. Our work explores the idea of working with clients to create more playable cities as an ecosystem of inclusive multiscale playable opportunities intertwined with our existing urban fabric. \nRyan Swanson is the founder and principal of The Urban Conga\, an award-winning multidisciplinary design studio focused on creating inclusive\, human-centered opportunities that transform once-overlooked or underutilized situations into stimulating\, creative outlets that evoke our innate drive to discover\, explore\, and empathize with others. His work spans architecture\, urban design\, public art\, and social practice\, using play as a catalyst for social interaction\, community engagement\, and shared ownership. He integrates play-based methodologies into both the design process and the spatial opportunities in which he creates. \nMaeghann Coleman\, AIA\, is a principal of The Urban Conga and a practicing architect. Her experience spans aviation\, education\, public institutions\, and community-impact projects. She focuses on health and well-being in the built environment\, using human-centered design to shape inclusive\, engaging spaces that foster meaningful\, memorable experiences for all users everywhere. \n  \n \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n October 5\, 2026\n1 pm ET / 10 am PT\nVirtual Lightning Talk\n \n \n \n \n \n $5 for not-yet-MembersFREE for Members\, Partners & Students \nEmail the Membership team for help with the promo code. \n \n Register Now\n \n \n \n \n \n Speakers \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Ryan Swanson and Maeghann ColemanFounder/Principal and PrincipalThe Urban Conga \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Become a member to attend special events free of charge\, and get Unfold Magazine mailed twice a year.\nMembership starts at just $5/month.\n \n Join URL:https://codesigncollaborative.org/event/live-play-as-power/ CATEGORIES:Lightning Talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://codesigncollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Urban-Conga-Ping-Pong-Table-.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T133000 DTSTAMP:20260912T115515 CREATED:20260902T194147Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T194256Z UID:34682-1793106000-1793107800@codesigncollaborative.org SUMMARY:CoDesign LIVE: The Visual Language of Protest with tyler galloway DESCRIPTION:CoDesign LIVE: The Visual Language of Protest with tyler galloway\nJoin us for a virtual lightning talk exploring \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Photo by and courtesy of Steve Hebert. \n \n \n \n \n \n Can visual branding power grassroots resistance? \nJoin us for CoDesign LIVE on October 27. Designer and educator tyler galloway will share his decade-plus collaborative design work with Stand Up KC\, a founding chapter in the nationwide Fight for $15 movement. \nDrawing from his visual essay “Things I’ve Learned About Designing for Protest” featured in Unfold: The Dissent Issue\, tyler will break down how strategic visual identity\, context-aware typography\, exploiting physical constraints\, and participatory design can turn graphic design into a true force-multiplier for grassroots movements. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n tyler galloway is an associate professor and chair of the graphic design department at the Kansas City Art Institute\, with primary research and practice interests focused on design for social change and participatory design processes. His design work has appeared in several national and international political/social poster and art exhibitions and has been published in the books “Graphis Poster Annual 2017”\, “The Design of Dissent”\, “reproduce and revolt”\, and the Turkish socio-political design magazine “no tasarim”. coursework and student projects have been published in “designing for social change” and “design ignites change”\, having won multiple grants through the latter. He has conducted workshops and spoken locally and regionally on design for social change and was an invited participant in the Leap Symposium at Art Center College of Design. \nHis design studio\, the new programme\, is focused on facilitating community-based social change through both client-initiated and designer-initiated work. Recent work has centered on visual identity and support materials for “Stand Up KC”\, Kansas City’s conception of the international low-wage worker movement\, along with work for other local non-profits. \ntyler holds a BFA from Missouri State University\, an MGD from North Carolina State University\, and loves riding bikes\, punk rock\, vegan cookies\, and being a dad. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n October 27\, 2026\n1 pm ET / 10 am PT\nVirtual Lightning Talk\n \n \n \n \n \n $5 for not-yet-MembersFREE for Members\, Partners & Students \nEmail the Membership team for help with the promo code. \n \n Register Now\n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n tyler gallowayAssociate Professor and Chair of the Graphic Design DepartmentKansas City Art Institute \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Become a member to attend special events free of charge\, and get Unfold Magazine mailed twice a year.\nMembership starts at just $5/month.\n \n Join URL:https://codesigncollaborative.org/event/live-visual-language-of-protest/ CATEGORIES:Lightning Talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://codesigncollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/terrence-worker-leader_photocredit_SteveHebert.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR