Constructing Performance // Performing Assemblies

Join us for a situated symposium held beneath the 2026 Materials & Applications Summer Pavilion, Earthen Comforts. Borrowing from the discursive and disciplinary format of an academic symposium, the event gathers California-based design practices around a communal table to present research and lead discussion on the entangled topics of material assembly and performance. Presenting participants include Salmaan Craig, David Eskenazi, Liz Gálvez, Monica Lamela, Ben Loescher, Paul Mayencourt, Sophie Pennetier, and Neyran Turan, with moderation by Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu. Conversations will begin with a consideration of the research practices surrounding the pavilion itself and expand toward aligned investigations of other materials and interpretations of assembly and performance. We will sit at a large communal table below Earthen Comforts and, in the spirit of experimentally generative and generous gathering and sharing, invite attendees to contribute to a shared potluck of afternoon drinks and snacks! -- Earthen Comforts, designed by Liz Gálvez (Office e.g. / The (Im)material Matters Lab), stages mass and fiber as shared infrastructures against intensifying heat. Adapting passive cooling strategies from desert contexts, the project modulates shade, air movement, and light to offer visitors an experience of varied microclimates in the M&A x Craft Contemporary Courtyard. Programs at Earthen Comforts are organized by Materials & Applications and produced as part of the M&A x Craft Contemporary Partnership. M&A is committed to providing programs to the public that are accessible and free to attend. Program tickets are now offered on a sliding scale starting at $0. Purchases of greater value contribute to designer fees, materials, and operating costs, and larger donations are always welcome and appreciated!