The Creation of Culture | Álvaro Amat | TEDxQuincy

Bridging the political or ideological divide is about more than dialog, it's about creating cultural narratives together as people. With an elegant and compelling TEDxQuincy presentation, Álvaro Amat, Design Director of Chicago's Field Museum, examines cultural connection and creation. Álvaro Amat is an artist, design director and educator who collaborates to create spaces in which narratives, objects, and experiences bring people together around critical questions about culture, nature, life, reality and existence. Álvaro Amat is an artist, design director and educator, who collaborates with scientists, writers, media producers, designers and others, to create spaces in which narratives, objects, and experiences bring people together around critical questions about culture, nature, life, reality and existence. He is particularly interested in crossing boundaries between art-like and science-like modes of inquiry to explore the creation of knowledge that can inspire curiosity and creativity. He has a Master of Arts in Art Education (2013, School of the Art Institute of Chicago), a Bachelors in Architecture, (1997, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico) and a Bachelors in Fine Arts (2007, School of the Art Institute of Chicago). In 2007, after 20 years of experience as an architect and academic in Mexico and Spain, he became the design director at the Field Museum, where he has created 10 large permanent Exhibitions like The Cyrus tang Hall of China, The Grainger Hall of Gems, and The Abbott Hall of Conservation: Restoring Earth. He has completed over 80 temporary exhibitions, including China’s First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors, Scenes from the Stone Age: The Cave Paintings of Lascaux, Ancient Mediterranean Cultures in Contact, and The Machine Inside, Biomechanics. He also led the implementation of the new brand for the museum and designed a completely renovated visitor experience that includes a replica of the largest dinosaur ever discovered and the largest interior hanging 3D-printed hydroponic gardens in the world. His work has been shown in galleries in Chicago and in Mexico City, and has been published in The New York Times, Time-out Magazine and The Chicago Tribune. He teaches and lectures in Chicago, Madrid, Mexico City, Houston and Seattle. He advises artists, cultural centers, government agencies and educational institutions in the creation of programs for the public understanding of complex issues, from climate change and water rights to cultural diversity and human resilience. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx