Creative Futures Conference 2026

Sekou Cooke presents his current work as an urban design consultant to cities pursuing socially just solutions to their legacies of harm and disrepair, framed within the context of his new book, Black Architect, published by Park Books. Signed copies will be available.

Sekou Cooke is an architect, urban designer, researcher and curator. Born in Jamaica and based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he is the former Director of the Master of Urban Design programme at UNC Charlotte, the 2021/2022 Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, and a founding member of the Black Reconstruction Collective. His research centres on Hip-Hop Architecture, a theoretical movement reflecting the core tenets of hip-hop culture, aimed at creating meaningful impact on the built environment and giving voice to marginalised and underrepresented voices in design practice.

Book: Black Architect, University of Chicago Press (also available from other major booksellers)

Brands that shape culture do so through experiences built with intention and longevity. In this session, Samuel Baum shares how strategic brand activation can move beyond short-term engagement to create lasting cultural influence.

Baum will present how thoughtful programming can embed a brand within communities and creative ecosystems, drawing on his experience developing music, art and cultural initiatives. This informs his current approach at Assembly Studios Atlanta, where brand activation is treated as a long-term investment in narrative and place.

Aligned with the Atlanta Design Festival theme Make It Last, this session focuses on designing experiences that evolve, resonate and endure. Attendees will learn how brands can create cultural impact that remains meaningful long after the moment has passed.

Samuel Baum is Executive Director of Strategic Brand Activation at Assembly Studios Atlanta. His background includes work as a cultural curator for Red Bull and creating programming during Art Basel, developing music, art and cultural initiatives across brand and creative ecosystems.

Bryce Truitt is an architect engaged in both the discipline and the practice of architecture. His research focuses on the theoretical and applied intersection of social ecology, art and architecture.

Atlanta's "City in a Forest" identity is under pressure. Its once-dense tree canopy is declining faster than it is being replanted, especially in areas experiencing rapid development, while the city's growing housing demand calls for thoughtful densification and new construction.

This panel invites designers, planners, civic leaders and the public to explore how to design a city around trees, not as scenery but as critical infrastructure that cools neighbourhoods, reduces stormwater runoff, improves air quality and supports mental health. It will also consider the human experience of trees: how people form emotional and cultural connections to them, how shade and greenery shape daily life, and how tree-filled environments influence a sense of belonging and wellbeing.

Virginie Kippelen is a French-American photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia, born and educated in France. She moved to the United States in 1991 to complete an MA in journalism (University of Arizona, 1993). Her work is driven by a desire to amplify voices for change, rooted in the belief that the current climate crisis and underlying environmental issues require a behavioural and cultural shift.

James Schroeder has worked in the entertainment business for over 20 years, with clients including The Home Depot, The Coca-Cola Company, Ford, Walmart, Cox and the PGA Tour Superstore. He started at Turner Studios in the editorial department and has since expanded into directing, writing, cinematography, sound recording and motion graphics, working across formats from thirty-second spots to documentaries and long-form narratives. He graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor's degree in Film/Video Production and lives in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and their dog, Archie.

Atlanta has the largest urban tree canopy of any major city in North America. The Tree Economy follows the forces of development, economics and politics threatening to erase that defining characteristic. Through the voices of tree activists, arborists, urban designers, elected officials and developers, filmmaker James Schroeder documents a city at a crossroads.

Trailer: The Tree Economy (Vimeo)

Film site: treedocatl.com