SXSW EDU® Announces Honorary AIA Doreen Gehry Nelson and Award-Winning Architect Frank Gehry as its first Keynote for the 2023 Conference and Festival

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As we continue the countdown to March, we are thrilled to reveal the first of four keynote conversations for the 2023 SXSW EDU Conference & Festival. Doreen Gehry Nelson, Honorary AIA, Professor Emerita of California State Polytechnic University, and Founding Director of Design-Based Learning of UCLA Design-Based Learning Project at UCLA Center X, will join her brother Frank Gehry, award-winning architect and designer of world-renowned buildings, including the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California; and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C., for a Keynote conversation rooted in the true power of design-based learning pedagogy.

In addition to celebrating their life's work and learning going forward, the two will share their perspectives on the roles that creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration must play in education, particularly through the implementation of the Design-Based Learning methodology. They will discuss what role a city plays in education and dive into their work with San Gabriel County, California, the first U.S. county to adopt design-based learning pedagogy for all of their schools.

"Pioneering voices are a hallmark of SXSW EDU's Keynote stage," said Greg Rosenbaum, Senior Director of SXSW EDU. "Having two of the most innovative thinkers and creators in design — one in architecture and one in pedagogy — on our stage is a very proud moment for those of us at SXSW EDU. Design-based learning brings the power of curiosity and exploration to the forefront for both an educator and a student. This is going to be a bold discussion that opens our eyes to imaginative approaches to pedagogy."

"Teachers are our society's true warriors," said Gehry Nelson. "Like artists, they show us who we are and where we might go. To solve our most pressing social issues we must embrace their abilities and give them the tools, the time and the space to flourish."

Doreen Gehry Nelson - Doreen Gehry Nelson is Honorary AIA, Professor Emerita of California State Polytechnic University, Founding Director of Design-Based Learning of UCLA Design-Based Learning Project at UCLA Center X. She is also an award-winning 50-year veteran educator and developed a Design-Based Learning methodology (formerly called City Building Education) in the late 1960s to ignite creativity, promote the high-level transfer of learning, and foster cross-curricular critical thinking skills among K-12 students using the spatial domain. She was named one of 30 top American innovators in education by The New York Times in 1991 and is the recipient of both the American Institute of Architecture's prestigious Lifetime Honorary Membership (the highest honor for a non-architect) and the California State University's statewide, 2006 Wang Award for Excellence in Education.

Frank Gehry - Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1947. Mr. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954 and studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Mr. Gehry is a world-renowned architect, with his work earning him some of the most prestigious awards, including the Pritzker Prize. Some of his notable projects include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower in New York City; Opus Residential Tower in Hong Kong; Foundation Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris, France; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C; Children's Institute Inc. in Watts, California, a new center for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) in Inglewood, California, and the Grand Avenue Project in Los Angeles, California.

In addition to this exciting Keynote session, SXSW EDU is also unveiling many of its favorite networking events, including the reveal of the Mentor Program, Meet Ups, and the must-attend Social Events. To explore these programs and more, please check out the schedule to find more information.

For more information on our speaker lineup for March 6-9, 2023, please visit sxswedu.com/speakers-sessions.

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The SXSW EDU^® Conference & Festival is a reflection of the world's most critical social issues as seen through the lens of education. This year's event will bring together the learner, the practitioner, the entrepreneur, and the visionary to share their groundbreaking stories, tackle complex issues, and build reimagined paths forward. As a community of diverse people who are united around a like-minded vision for the future, SXSW EDU serves as a place for attendees to renew their purpose in practice from both a personal and professional perspective. It is a place to reinforce the core principles of teaching and learning as well as an opportunity to express your creativity and passion for education. SXSW EDU is a component of the South by Southwest^® family of conferences and festivals that has grown from 800 to over 8,000 registrants in the last decade. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 6-9, 2023.

Contact:
Liz Stein
SXSW EDU Press & Publicity
[email protected]

SOURCE SXSW EDU