The (Little) Language Lab

In New York City, where 18% of students are English Language Learners and nearly half speak a language other than English at home, literacy education is at a critical turning point. What if literacy education could serve as a tool to embrace multilingualism and how can design aid this ideological transformation?

Research reveals that ELL students who participate in bilingual education programs lead to better academic performance than their peers educated solely in English. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 (𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚) 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙗: 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣, 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮-𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 brings together a unique showcase where multilingualism isn’t an accommodation —it’s celebrated.

Through immersive demonstrations and hands-on activities, participants will explore practical and imaginative solutions to nurture multilingualism. This event aims to challenge traditional notions of literacy spaces, and asks attendees to challenge the designer’s role to reimagine the current English-dominant landscape into vibrant hubs for cultural exchange and collective empowerment.

Open to all ages, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 (𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚) 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙗 invites families, educators, designers, and the public to actively engage with prototypes and collaboratively envision what inclusive, multilingual literacy spaces can look like in New York City and beyond.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 (𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦) 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘣 is an independent project by VWD Studio partners 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙖𝙧𝙖 and 𝙀𝙢𝙢𝙖 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠, with work featured by 𝙎𝙖𝙖𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙞 𝙍𝙖𝙟𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙠𝙖𝙧.