Designing Resistance Manifesto
Design is never neutral. It shapes the world around us and the ways we push back against it.
Resistance takes shape wherever people challenge what exists and imagine what could be. It lives in reclaimed public spaces and cultural traditions kept alive. It can be a bold statement or an everyday act of care.
Designing Resistance explores how creative action challenges power and makes room for change. Through Film screenings, panel discussions, social hours, and exhibits, we examine how resistance is imagined and put into practice.
These gatherings invite us to question the systems shaping our lives and recognize our capacity to influence them.
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Designing Resistance Social Hour
What Resistance Looks Like
November 5th, 2026 | 5:30-8:30pm
Beachwood Distillery + Taproom Bixby Knolls
Where do you see resistance through design? Join us for a social hour exploring examples contributed by attendees, from graphic design to the built environment.
Join us for an evening of shared inspiration and conversation about how design responds to the forces shaping our lives. From graphic design to architecture, urban spaces, and landscapes, we’ll explore how people challenge power and create places that support their communities.
Before the event, send us an image or short video of design that pushes back against political, environmental, or societal pressures. It could be an LGBTQ+ bar, a climate resiliency center, or an everyday act of design that deserves a closer look. Share something you created, encountered, or have long admired, and tell us why it matters to you.
Your contributions will help shape the evening and spark conversations with others who see the world a little differently. Come ready to share, or simply bring your curiosity. You don’t need to be a designer or submit an example to join in.
Social Hour
Location
Designing Resistance Social Hour will take place at the Beachwood Distillery + Taproom located in Bixby Knolls.
Beachwood Distillery + Taproom
3630 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach, CA 90814
Designing Resistance Conversation
Resisting the Urge to say No: Opening City Government to New Ideas and Making Room for Possibility
December 9th, 2026 | 5:30pm
Psychic Temple Building Downtown Long Beach
What becomes possible when city leaders resist the urge to say no? Join progressive voices in local government for a conversation about staying open to new ideas and advancing innovative approaches to housing, urban planning, and community building.
An unfamiliar idea arrives at City Hall. What determines whether it gets a fair hearing or stops at the door?
Resisting the Urge to Say No brings together progressive city government “gatekeepers” to explore how they use their positions to make room for change. Working within systems that can favor precedent over possibility, these leaders navigate competing priorities and public accountability while advancing new approaches to housing, urban planning, and community building.
The conversation will explore what it takes to remain curious when an idea challenges established practice and how to help promising community ideas move through institutional barriers. How can those responsible for reviewing and approving change become active partners in making it happen?
Continuing the questions introduced during Designing Resistance Film Week, this panel considers how resistance can take shape within the institutions that influence our built environment.
Co-sponsored by City Fabrick and Intertrend and hosted at Intertrend’s Psychic Temple Building in Downtown Long Beach. Admission is free, with light snacks and refreshments provided.
Featuring
Lisa Kim
Former
City Manager,
Garden Grove
Ata Khan
Deputy Director of
Development Services,
Pomona
Suja Lowenthal
City Manager,
Lynwood + Former City Manager, Hermosa Beach
Rick Cole
City Councilmember
+ Former Mayor,
Pasadena
Conversation
Location
Resisting the Urge to Say No will take place at the Intertrend’s Psychic Temple Building in Downtown Long Beach
Psychic Temple Building
228 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802
Designing Resistance Exhibit
Resisting Erasure:
Preserving the voices of
Terminal Island's last Japanese-American community.
February 2027
Edison Theatre Downtown Long Beach
How can preserving a community’s stories become an act of resistance? Join us for an exhibit honoring the voices of Terminal Island’s Japanese American community and keeping its history alive for future generations.
Check back soon for more information and exhibit details.
Exhibit
Location
The Designing Resistance Exhibit, Resisting Erasure, will take place at The Edison Theater in Downtown Long Beach
Edison Theatre
213 E Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802