There is a distinct difference between being housed and having a home, says Cultural Enricher Dr. Tasoulla Hadjiyanni. As a Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota, she teaches why the spatial parameters of our homes are fundamental to our ability to live healthy and connected lives. Listen and learn how our kitchen tables can support or suppress our ability to create meaning and thrive.
Filmed August 7,2021 at La Doña Cervecería in Minneapolis. A refugee from Cyprus, Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Ph.D. uses her design profession to help create communities where everyone can thrive. By researching the ways the design of the built environment intersects with culture and identity, she sheds light on how physical, mental, economic and social costs associated with displacement can carry on for generations. In her most recent book, “The Right to Home,” Hadjiyanni leans on the home-making stories of Hmong, Somali, Mexican, Ojibwe and African American families in Minnesota to explore how the design of residential interiors can support or suppress peoples’ ability to thrive. As the founder of Culturally Enriched Communities, Hadjiyanni advocates for built environments that help eliminate health, income, and educational disparities. Her award-winning teaching pedagogies as a Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota have been used to decolonize design education and nurture global citizens. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx