Thursday, March 30, 7-8:30pm, University of Minnesota’s Rapson Hall

Minneapolis, Minn. – Emerging from a consolidated incubation period of creativity, one of America’s most celebrated landscape designers will give her first public talk in 2.5 years as part of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s Next Generation of Parks Event Series. Mikyoung Kim, founding principal of the eponymous Boston-based firm Mikyoung Kim Design, will focus on the role public space plays in our semi-post pandemic world in reconnecting and restoring public engagement in our global cities. The event is free and will take place at Rapson Hall, at the University of Minnesota College of Design, March 30, beginning at 7:00pm. Register via Eventbrite secure a seat.

For the past 25 years, Kim has crafted a body of work that explores the intersection of human health and environmental stewardship; defining the art of ecology and restorative experiences. Her current work includes the Ford Michigan Central Park in Detroit, the Seoul Cheonggye River Restoration Project, the 42-acre Science Hill Wellesley Campus, and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Kim’s talk in Minneapolis will focus on the ethics of design and our collective goal of creating healthier and more equitable cities that spark our collective imagination.

For over a decade, the Parks Foundation’s Next Generation of Parks Event Series has demystified the intersection of parks and public space with the most important issues affecting our community, including equity and race, climate change and sustainability, and mental and physical health.

“We’re honored that Mikyoung Kim will be our first fully in-person Next Generation of Parks speaker since the pandemic. Her work celebrates the connections humans forge with each other and the natural world by restoring spaces for healing, gathering, and play,” says Tom Evers, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. “At the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, we believe parks have the power to connect us, heal us, and make us whole, and we’re delighted to delve into this transformative idea with Mikyoung, who is at the forefront of this practice.”

About Our Speaker
Mikyoung Kim is an international landscape architect and urban designer. Her firm, Mikyoung Kim Design, was named the 2022 ASLA Firm of the Year. Kim has received the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum Design award and the ASLA National Design Medal. Her studio has been named by Fast Company as one of the innovative architecture firms in the world and her talented and collaborative team has received the 2022 Fast Company “Innovation by Design Award”for their work for Ford’s Michigan Central. As a thought leader on restorative urban design, her ideas and work have been highlighted in numerous publications, including The New York Times, the Washington Post, National Geographic, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Architectural Record, Dwell, Surface, Garden Design, and the Chicago Tribune.

Next Generation of Parks Continues in May
This season continues on Thursday, May 4, 2023, with a talk on by José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors, at the Mill City Museum. Details and registration information will be announced in March 2023.

The 2022-2023 season of Next Generation of Parks events is presented by Minnesota Public Radio News and produced in partnership with the UMN Department of Landscape Architecture and Mill City Museum, with additional support from Barr Engineering. To explore sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please contact Jennifer Downham at JDownham@MplsParksFoundation.org.

About the Minneapolis Parks Foundation
Since 2003, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation has raised more than $28 million for transformative parks and programming in Minneapolis by aligning philanthropic investment and community vision. Today, the Parks Foundation champions equitable investment in Minneapolis parks through the new Reimagine North Commons partnership, as well as the RiverFirst Initiative, through which it was responsible for private fundraising and implementation of the Water Works and Great Northern Greenway River Link projects. The Parks Foundation also supports community-based parks projects with the People for Parks Fund, and explores the intersection of parks and today’s most pressing issues by presenting the Next Generation of Parks™ Event Series. Learn more or make a gift at MplsParksFoundation.org.

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Featured Image: Courtesy of Mikyoung Kim Design