Morgan Adamson: Associate Professor and Chair, Media and Cultural Studies, Macalester College
Moderated by Sonali Pahwa: Associate Professor, Theatre Arts and Dance, University of Minnesota

In a conversation about her recent essay film, Brutal Utopias, Morgan Adamson explores the ways contested histories of urban space can help us reflect on contemporary crises in the neoliberal city. The film constructs a critical history of Cedar-Riverside towers and the fight over urban renewal in the 1970s through diverse, often conflicting, archival sources. It examines the shifting meaning of this brutalist architectural landmark: from modernist utopia, to reviled eyesore, to site of refuge for the East African community. At its core, the film entertains George Batialle’s assertion that “architecture is the expression of the very being of societies” by interrogating how architecture itself becomes an archive of collective aspirations and failures in a world that has largely left behind utopian thinking. Also in conversation will be Sisco Omar, Cedar-Riverside resident who worked as a collaborator on the film. Omar, a community organizer, media maker, and educator, will offer perspective on the contemporary work of media making in the neighborhood and how the East African community has made the towers their own.

This activity is supported by an Institute for Advanced Study Research and Creative Collaborative Grant for the collaborative Media Archives for the Future.