**For Immediate Release**

Berkeley, CA. In its second year on campus, the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, UC Berkeley’s interdisciplinary hub for tech and design learning, recently welcomed its first cohort of artists-in-residence for the fall semester. With the aim of encouraging novel use of its space and equipment, artists will spend dedicated time working in Jacobs Hall and participating in the end-of-semester Jacobs Design Showcase.

College of Environmental Design undergraduate architecture student Jordan Coffey (B.A. Arch '17) was chosen as one of the three artists-in-residence at Jacobs. He plans to weave designs and concepts of the past, present and future together through his work with textiles. Focusing on the African diaspora, his work attempts to recover a history that was largely erased, “translating our untold history into [the] compelling usable sculptures we call clothing.”

“From my travels around the world, I have realized that every country has a unique textile that tells a rich story,” Coffey explained. “My aspirations are to push the limits of the equipment available at the Jacobs Institute, [allowing] me to elevate these textiles into modern silhouettes.”

Coffey plans to use Jacobs Hall’s industrial sewing machine and serger to further explore the intersection of fashion and cultural history, such as a hoodie he constructed with African and Caribbean textiles in response to Trayvon Martin’s death. The interwoven form and function of clothing presents a perfect opportunity to better understand the intricacies of cultural memory. “Framing these textiles to interact as a contemporary juxtaposition of past and present can create the couture of the future,” he said.

Read more about the Jacobs Institute Artist-in-Residence here.