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Open Gym hours are your Design Team’s chance to work out an idea, a project, or a question! If this were a regular gym, it might be a “leg day” or a cardio routine, but in the Design Gym, you can come for whatever part of the design process you might be in.

Want to use a Design Gym Kit to hone your problem description? Need feedback on your intervention idea? Or maybe just some paint to work on a prototype? We’re here for you! Feel free to drop in during any of our Open Gym times, or sign up so Design Gym staff can be ready to support.

DESIGN TEAMS ARE DESIGNING IN PRACTICE.

Design in Practice functions like a “practicum” for our Design Team members.

They will actively pursue a design process during 3 monthly Saturday workshops that will serve as an opportunity to rigorously engage in the design practice, from divergence through convergence.

This includes everything from inspecting the problem frame to getting insights from divergent thinkers to materializing ideas with rapid prototyping.

SOCIAL MAKING THURSDAYS CLASSES

  • Join us for an introductory hands-on workshop on reflecting on intercommunal solidarity through tatreez, Palestinian embroidery. Participants will think about how communities relate to one another while learning basic  Palestinian cross-stitch techniques, explore the symbolism behind traditional motifs, and think about embroidery across their own communities. No prior experience is needed—just a willingness to stitch, learn, and build solidarity across different communities.  All materials provided.

    This class is no longer available for registration.

  • N.A. Mansour (she/her/hers) is a Palestinian-Mexican historian, educator and writer. Her writing on food, culture, art and history has appeared in Eater, Bon Appetit, The Counter, Contingent Magazine, Vittles and more. Mansour’s historical research focuses on both the history of Muslim devotional manuscripts and Palestinian material history. She’s taught Palestinian history, archival science, Muslim contemporary literature, manuscript history and art history in both community and higher educational settings.

Introduction to Palestinian Embroidery Stitching Solidarity

This class is closed for registration.

  • Gather with us and explore the art of clothes repair and mending. Whether it’s patching a favorite pair of jeans or creatively restoring a button-down shirt, repair and mending disrupts capitalism’s cycle of continuous production and overconsumption by extending the life of your clothes instead of replacing them. No prior experience is needed—just bring something to mend or repair.

    This class is no longer available for registration.

  • Tanya Nixon-Silberg (she/her) is a Black mother, artist, educator, and a radical optimist from Boston, MA. Her methods of creation have taken the shape of fiber art, collage, sculpture, puppetry, storytelling and conscious narrative shifting through workshops and facilitation. Unapologetically, Tanya makes art for and in community with Boston's BiPoC community to reclaim the use of our hands to craft our own narratives that center truth, remembrance, and healing. A huge fan of the mission and the people that DS4SI brings together, she is happy to exchange gifts with the community in the form of sewing and repair.

Clothes Mending & Repair As A Radical Practice

This class is closed for registration.

  • In this workshop, we’ll cover the basics of sewing while working toward a shared goal—creating large cushion covers for the Design Gym. We will measure, cut, pin, and stitch fabric using sewing machines. This is an opportunity to experience making as a social process—learning, creating, and shaping our shared environment together. No prior sewing experience is needed—just bring your curiosity and a willingness to sew as a community.

    This class is no longer available for registration.

  • Anulfo Baez (He/Him) is DS4SI’s Design Gym Lead, a filmmaker, and a sneakerhead with a passion for fostering community and driving social change. Anulfo’s backgrounds in urban planning, art and architectural history, and his recent MA in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Leadership from Tufts University, provide him with a deep understanding of the complexities of social justice and the leadership skills necessary for meaningful change.

Sewing Cushion Covers

This class is closed for registration.

  • Join us for a collaborative build-out of a new Design Gym infrastructure! As a way to bring our design process into physical space, we’re constructing two kit stations—each designed for both storage and interactive instruction. Together, we’ll measure, cut, assemble, and install these stations in a barnraising-style workshop where everyone, from beginners to experienced builders, is welcome. No prior experience is necessary—just a willingness to build and problem-solve collectively.

    This class is closed for registration.

  • mister maria gerdyman (They/Them) is a chinese indonesian american foraging enthusiast and amateur masseuse. Their work explores collective listening at the intersection of design, social justice work, and the body. They co-run an online roleplaying game called "Tiny Town” and do jiu jitsu with their friends.

Constructing the Pillars

This class is closed for registration.