I am Blooming
Team: Vincent Calabro, Emily Duong and Michael Graham in collaboration with
Akima Brackeen
Community Collaborator: I AM ABLE
Photos: Tom Harris Photography and Brian
Griffin for the Chicago Sukkah Design Festival
I AM BLOOMING weaves together the rich traditions of African, African-American, and Jewish cultures, celebrating their shared values
of communal gathering and the cyclical nature of life. In African and
African-American cultures, these gatherings have been a central aspect
of community life, where participants arrange themselves in circular
formations to foster a sense of unity and togetherness through rituals
of ring shouts, drumming circles, rap cyphers, and healing circles. In
parallel, the Jewish holiday of Sukkot embraces impermanence both in
the realm of time and the built environment by commemorating the
seasonal harvest, and encouraging a deep connection with nature and
community, cycles of growth, and the transitory nature of materiality
and the human experience.
By acknowledging the cyclical rhythms of life
and its relationship with nature, I Am Blooming creates a unique space
for grounding, reflection, and mindfulness. After the Festival, the sukkah will serve as a meditative pavilion open to all members of North
Lawndale community.