1. Sweet Dreams: A cafe and artist collective. The “sweets” are the food, tea, and coffee. The “dreams” are visions for the city created by a collective of urban planners, graphic designers, and engineers. Their work will be displayed on the walls of the cafe. The second floor is studio space for rent and public gallery space. The three primary products of the business would be:
- Art space for rent at varying levels
- Vegetables, sugar, caffeine, wheat … all the usual cafe items
- Merchandise inspired by the work of artists in the community
2. The American Highway Museum: While curating the past, the AHM would also comment on the present as we continue to navigate the “highway era” of American history. The past and present would be wedded to each other in a museum dedicated to archiving the story of life before cars, the growth of the automobile industry, the beginning and development of the highway, and the settlements that have been developed on the outskirts of of cities to serve people along the way. This museum will seek to understand exactly how highways have shaped our perception of cities, America, and our daily lives.
3. Whence: A book on origins. I love this word because it includes a reference to two locations. Literally from where, “whence” implies both the place that has been left and the new place that has been settled. This could be an autobiography, a biography, or the history of a community.
4. That’s Savage: A book of American history through the lens of identity formation. I would build primarily on Said’s Orientalism to translate his ideas for a high school audience.
Highways and Hallowed Halls 