How can the spaces we build move beyond shelter to foster dignity, belonging, and collective responsibility?
Bringing together humanitarian advocate Natasha Hall, placemaking leader Jessica G. Smith Lennan, and artist-architect Elizabeth Casqueiro, our “From Shelter to Shared Experience” event explores how architecture, design, and creative practice respond to displacement, inequality, and social fragmentation.
Drawing from global crisis contexts, community-led urban development, and artistic interpretations of migration and memory, the conversation examines how shared spaces can become sites of inclusion and care — locally and globally.
“From Shelter to Shared Experience” event marks the open gallery evening for our refreshed exhibition Resilience and Reverberation at InterAction.
Join us on February 12th for a timely conversation, meet local artists, and connect through art that explores resilience, identity, and shared humanity.
Space is limited— please RSVP to reserve your place. Admission is limited to registered attendees.
MEET OUR GUEST SPEAKERS
NATASHA HALL is Senior Advocate for the Middle East at Refugees International, with over 20 years of experience working in humanitarian crises and conflict zones across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the South Caucasus.
Hall’s work focuses on governance, displacement, civilian protection, and resilience. She previously co-led efforts with the White Helmets at Mayday Rescue and served as Senior Fellow for the Middle East Program at CSIS. Her analysis has shaped policy discussions and donor responses, and she regularly contributes to major international media including Bloomberg, Foreign Affairs, WSJ, the Washington Post, CNN, BBC, The New York Times, and others.
She holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Virginia and is the founder of Art in Exile.
JESSICA G. SMITH LENNAN is a native Washingtonian and placemaking professional passionate about creating greater economic opportunity through inclusive development, particularly for residents east of the Anacostia River. Lennan is the Deputy Director of the 11th Street Bridge Park, a project of Building Bridges Across the River, where she leads external relations and community engagement for a multi-sector initiative advancing equitable, community-driven development.
She serves on the Anacostia Parks & Community Collaborative Steering Committee and the Capitol Riverfront Park Foundation Board, and is a Washington Business Journal 2025 40 Under 40 honoree.
ELIZABETH CASQUEIRO is a painter and mixed media visual artist whose work explores traces, remnants, and overlooked elements of lived experience, examining how meaning is shaped through continual processes of rearrangement and reinterpretation. Trained as an architect, she brings a deep awareness of the symbolism embedded in architecture and urban landscapes. As a Portuguese immigrant, her work reflects how displacement leaves marks of absence, rupture, and adaptation on both body and mind.
Casqueiro has exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, including New York, Washington, DC, the UK, Portugal, and Italy, and has received multiple awards from organizations such as the London Art Biennale, DC Arts and Humanities, and the Maryland State Arts Council. She holds degrees in architecture and fine arts, teaches at Georgetown University, and maintains studios in Washington, DC, and Easton, Maryland. Her work is held in private and corporate collections, including the World Bank Group.
RSVP today to connect with local artists featured in Resilience and Reverberation and take part in a conversation on architecture, design, and placemaking as mutual care.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
Throughout September, one of the creative industry’s biggest moments unfolds as New York Fashion Week kicks off Fashion Month, soon followed by London, Milan, and Paris. From spotlighting commercial appeal to celebrating innovation, craftsmanship, and luxury, these fashion weeks set global trends while driving significant cultural and economic influence. Coinciding with the 80th UN General Assembly and Climate Week, Art4Development.Net hosted a global conversation on the future of arts, fashion design, and sustainability.
This virtual discussion tackles challenges such as overproduction, waste, and equity, while spotlighting circular design and eco-art innovations. Our international panel explores the intersections of arts, fashion, and sustainability through:
• textile arts as expressions of cultural identity
• honoring traditional and Indigenous craftsmanship
• ethical sourcing and supply-chain responsibility
• life-cycle thinking and circular design
• fostering a mindset of responsible consumption—balancing quality, longevity, and affordability
Have you seen the latest art’ishake edition? Building on this virtual conversation, the newest issue highlights textile arts and sustainability. [Request your free copy].
MEET OUR GUEST SPEAKERS
KWAMENA BOISON is a social entrepreneur, multidisciplinary art enthusiast, and fashion designer based in Ghana. Drawing significant inspiration from centuries of sustainable Ghanaian fashion and artistic culture, Kwamena redesigns and makes art by collecting textile waste from landfills, bodies of water, and Kantamanto—one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in West Africa.
Kwamena is the founder and head of design at AFRODISTRICT and THE REVIVAL, a community-led sustainable design initiative creating art with upcycled global textile waste, which has received recognition from international platforms, such as BBC, Channel 4, and France 24, among others. He has also collaborated with fashion and culture brands such as Art Comes First and Harris Elliott, and The Revival has created exclusive products for the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Revival | Ghana
AKHIL SIVANANDAN is the Co-Founder and CEO of Green Story, a sustainability intelligence platform helping global brands measure, reduce, and communicate their environmental impact. With a background in business strategy, sustainability, and impact storytelling, Akhil has worked extensively in the textiles and apparel sector, enabling companies to scale sustainable practices and comply with evolving global regulations such as ESPR and CBAM.
He holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and has over a decade of experience building data-driven solutions that bridge the gap between businesses and conscious consumers. Under his leadership, Green Story has grown into a trusted partner for brands worldwide, driving measurable reductions in environmental footprints.
Passionate about collaboration and transparency, Akhil frequently engages with policymakers, investors, and industry leaders to advance sustainability at scale.
GreenStory | The Netherlands
MARIA FUSCO is the Chief Conservator and Margaret Wing Dodge chair in conservation and has worked at the The George Washington University Museum & The Textile Museum since 2011. Before joining the museum staff, Ms. Fusco trained at the Textile Conservation Centre in Winchester, England, and held roles in government and private institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Konserveringscenter Vejle in Denmark, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.
LORI KARTCHNER is Curator of Education at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. She is an alumni of the GW’s Museum Education Program, 2013, and received an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business in 2022. For the last 12 years Kartchner has worked to transition the museum’s programming efforts from a private museum to its university setting, and expand its academic and public educational offerings. This work included the development of and operations of Textiles 101, the museum’s hands-on learning gallery.
The George Washington University Museum & The Textile Museum | USA
An evening of meaningful art, inspiring conversations, and stories of positive change.
- Hear from guest artist/speaker Andrea Limauro, and connect with artists and global changemakers.
- Enjoy the artworks on display as part of the Resilience and Reverberation exhibition, featuring local artists Emon Surakitkoson, Mentu Easwaran, and Jeff Wilson.
- Discover how Bridge H2OPE is bringing clean water wells to underserved communities in Ethiopia—and explore artwork available for purchase to support this vital cause.
Space is limited, so please register in advance. Only confirmed registrants will be admitted.
When: Thursday, October 30th, 5-7:30 PM. (Artist Talk to start at 6 pm.)
Where: InterAction, Washington DC.
Meet Andrea Limauro:
Andrea is an Italian-born, Silver Spring, MD-based artist, muralist, city planner and climate resilience expert. Currently, he is the 2025 Artist in Residence at the Earth Commons at Georgetown University and a senior flood resilience planner for the District of Columbia.
Until recently, Andrea was the Washington Post Opinions Seasons Artist for 2025, until the newspaper abruptly canceled the collaboration as a result of ongoing changes at the newspaper. Andrea is currently completing a year-long art and climate engagement project, The Climate of Future Past, which was initially commissioned by the Washington Post, and will result in four public art works about climate risks in four vulnerable communities in Washington, DC.
Andrea holds a BA in Politics and Sociology from Essex University, UK, a Graduate Diploma in International Development from the University of Padua, Italy and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
As part of the AQUAMUSE Project, supported by the Water and Development Partnership Programme at UNESCO-IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, SciComm X hosted a thought-provoking webinar exploring how art can address global water challenges and shape the cultural narratives that define us.
This session emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in amplifying awareness and action for water conservation.
Art4Development.Net founder, Nil Navaie moderated this webinar featuring panelists:
Doug Fogelson, Founder & Director, Front Forty Press Shanai Matteson, Creative Changemaker & Founder, Water Bar & Public Studio Fritz Horstman, Education Director, Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
Watch the recording and learn more here.