The Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA) is a new grant initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that critically engage topics of community, social, and economic concern within the built environment—at Gibbs College, on the University of Oklahoma (OU) Campus, and across Oklahoma. The GDAA is consistent with OU’s Lead On Plan to advance principles of equity, diversity, and belonging specifically articulated in Pillars 4 and 5. The GDAA was made possible with support from the OU Institute for Community and Society Transformation and the Institute for Quality Communities.
Student projects can address economic, social, cultural and public health challenges and problems which manifest in physical space and the built environment. Proposals that address underrepresented and underserved groups and communities in the design fields are especially welcome.
Awards range from $1,500-$8,000. Number of awarded projects depends on applications. Applicants may apply for awards up to $8,000. There will be two information sessions – March 28, at noon in the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery, and April 11, at noon on Zoom.
The GDAA supports proposals in three categories – community connections, special events and exhibits, and curricular interventions. All applications must list a Gibbs College faculty sponsor.
*****GDAA DEADLINE EXTENSION*****
The deadline for submissions to the Gibbs Design Activism Awards has been extended to Friday, April 29 at 6pm.
For more information on how to apply, contact faculty organizer Dr. Wanda Katja Liebermann [wkliebermann@ou.edu].
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
