Hertz Stage // Memorial Arts Building
Following the 7:30pm performance of DREAM HOU$E
In Eliana Pipes’ DREAM HOU$E, past and present collide in an effort to lay claim to a family’s future. As gentrification takes root and prices soar across metro Atlanta, many are faced with difficult housing decisions that have long lasting effects on families and communities. For some, lack of affordable housing and pathways to home ownership can spell displacement that tends to impact communities of color the most. For others, selling a home comes with its own calculus of accumulating financial wealth at the expense of cultural ties. This panel explores themes from the play to examine the cost of progress in Atlanta - one of the fastest gentrifying cities in the US - through the lens of housing and real estate, public policy, and activism. This conversation is free with a ticket purchase to the performance on February 10th.
Moderated by Justin Anderson, Director, Educator, Place Maker, and REALTOR®
Justin Anderson is a licensed real estate consultant with The Welcome Home Atlanta Team, powered by Keller Williams First Atlanta. He recently served as the Associate Artistic Director at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia, directing dozens of award-winning plays, musicals, and new works, in addition to directing throughout the southeast and internationally. In addition, he is an adjunct faculty at Kennesaw State University, teaching courses in acting, directing, and musical theatre. www.welcomehomeatlanta.com
Featuring Guest Speakers:
Joshua Humphries • Director of the Office of Housing & Community Development at City of Atlanta
In his current role as Director of Housing and Community Development for the City of Atlanta, Josh leads a team that implements innovative programs and policy solutions to improve housing affordability and expand small business opportunities in Atlanta. With initiatives ranging from zoning reform to better use of public land for affordable housing, the team looks for ways to positively impact the lives of Atlanta residents. Prior to joining the City of Atlanta, Josh worked to advance economic justice as a community organizer and community development leader in Los Angeles and New York City. Josh has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Kennesaw State University and a master of divinity in community organizing from Fuller Theological Seminary. Email Josh at jhumphries@atlantaga.gov.
King Williams • Author, Writer, and Documentary Filmmaker
King Williams is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, GA, who specializes in gentrification, urbanism, race, history and transit. His film “The Atlanta Way: A Documentary on Gentrification” focuses on the last days of public housing and gentrification in Atlanta, GA. He is also the creator of The Neighborhood Watch, a podcast on Atlanta’s intersections of urbanism, history, and culture.
Julie Ju-Youn Kim RA AIA • Architect and Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology
Julie Ju-Youn Kim RA AIA is an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology and founder and principal of c2architecturestudio, an award-winning architectural practice. At Georgia Tech, she is the Director of the Flourishing Communities Collaborative, an Academic Lab that endeavors to educate, advocate and offer design solutions to Atlanta and broader Southeast region neighborhoods who are traditionally under-resourced and underserved by the design disciplines. Professor Kim has been featured in international journals including SPACE, Korean Architect, and Architectural Record. She is also the editor of Dialogues in Design Thinking: reconsidering the interdisciplinary design studio experiment in the School of Architecture at Georgia Tech (Georgia Tech, 2021) and co-editor for Radical Good Trouble (Georgia Tech, 2021).
