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See everything planned for 2025 SEGD Xlab Offsite Chicago, September 17-18. Presented by DCL and Nanolumens
At SEGD Xlab Offsite Chicago, we’ll bring the DuSable Museum’s Historic Roundhouse to life with live activations, in-the-round talks, workshops, and networking.
Xlab Offsite Chicago is a creative gathering where experimentation meets civic and cultural imagination.
Over two days, we’re stepping outside the traditional conference model—into a format designed for deeper connection, hands-on exploration, and bold conversation. Through in-the-round talks, live workshops, and immersive city tours, Xlab brings together designers, artists, and changemakers to reimagine how we practice, see, work, and belong. Set in the historic Roundhouse at the DuSable Black History Museum, this is your space to recharge, remix your perspective, and design with purpose.
Bruce Mau is co-founder and CEO of Massive Change Network, known for his systems-based approach to life-centered design. A designer, educator, and author, his work spans global collaborations with brands, institutions, and governments. At Xlab, Mau leads a generative Manifesto Workshop—inviting participants to collectively articulate the values and purpose that will guide design in a time when it must do more than aestheticize: it must lead.
Thursday, September 18
with TIFF BEATTY
Morning Sessions 9:30 am – 11:00 am
Performance poet and cultural organizer Tiff Beatty will open Xlab Offsite Chicago with her signature blend of language, rhythm, and urgency. As associate director of the National Public Housing Museum and founder of Art Is Bonfire, Beatty creates space for memory, resistance, and reimagination. She’ll set the tone with a live performance that calls us into the room—and into the work ahead.
with SARAH FORNACE
Morning Sessions 9:30 am – 11:00 am
Led by co-artistic director Sarah Fornace, Manual Cinema is an Emmy Award–winning performance collective blending shadow puppetry, cinematic technique, and live theater. Their work has appeared in feature films, on global stages, and in collaborations with The New York Times and Jordan Peele. At Xlab, they’ll share their process, then guide participants in creating their own “live movies” through a hands-on workshop.
David Macaulay is a MacArthur Fellow and author/illustrator best known for The Way Things Work. With a background in architecture, he’s published over 35 books that make complex systems accessible through visual storytelling. At Xlab Offsite Chicago, Macaulay demonstrates how drawing functions as a thinking tool—bridging disciplines, sparking ideas, and transforming how we see. Live sketching included.
with JAMIE KALVEN
Morning Sessions 11:15 am -12:30 pm
Jamie Kalven is a writer and founder of the Invisible Institute, where his investigative journalism has exposed systemic police misconduct, including the Laquan McDonald case. His work has led to landmark transparency rulings and contributed to the exoneration of over 180 individuals. At Xlab, Kalven explores how journalism and design share tools for revealing truth, reframing narratives, and challenging systems of power.
with MONICA CHADHA
Afternoon Sessions 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Monica Chadha is the Principal and Founder of Civic Projects Architecture, where she leads socially engaged, participatory design efforts across civic and cultural spaces. Her work includes the Obama Presidential Center museum design, an arts center in a converted firehouse, and adaptive reuse for Steep Theatre. At Xlab, Chadha leads a workshop on co-creation—exploring how inclusive processes deepen trust and ensure lasting impact.
with ROSANNA VITIELLO
Afternoon Sessions 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Founder of The Place Bureau, Rosanna Vitiello is a placemaker and strategist who works internationally to craft “Place Futures” through research, co-creation, and design. Her projects include Liverpool’s Canning Dock and the Brickline Greenway in St. Louis. At Xlab, she introduces the Collaborative Place Futures Toolkit to help reimagine shared spaces with boldness and insight.
with REBECCA GATES
Afternoon Sessions 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Rebecca Gates is an artist, culture strategist, and founder of Sound and Associates. Her work integrates sound into public and cultural spaces—including collaborations with MoMA PS1, Mass MoCA, and Georgetown University. At Xlab Offsite Chicago, Gates explores how listening can serve as an invisible architecture—shaping perception, nourishing connection, and transforming design practice.
With NORMAN TEAGUE
Afternoon Sessions 3:30 – 5:00 pm
Closing Keynote
Artist, designer, and educator Norman Teague centers equity, mentorship, and cultural storytelling in his work. A member of the Obama Presidential Center design team, he creates furniture and objects rooted in African design traditions and contemporary craft. At Xlab Offsite Chicago, Teague delivers the closing keynote, exploring how design can shift culture from the ground up through material practice, narrative, and community connection.
Design Immersion Tours
Xlab Offsite Chicago Tours
Wednesday, Sept 17, 1:00 – 3:30 pm
Did you know that a tour is part of your Xlab Offsite Chicago experience? All tours are concurrent. Select your favorite tour from the add-ons section when you register for Xlab Offsite Chicago. If you already registered but did not select a tour, please use this form to complete your selection. Let’s explore Chicago!
Led by Founder Tanner Woodford, this tour features Community on the Make, celebrating 25 years of Arts of Life—a collective where artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities have reshaped design culture through creativity, collaboration, and inclusion.
Explore the details of Chicago’s architectural heritage through a material lens. Discover work by Frank Lloyd Wright, Barry Byrne, and Edward Dart, and uncover how humble brick has defined the city’s identity.
Wild Axel Foraging Tour
This hands-on outdoor experience teaches participants to identify and harvest ~20 edible wild plants, offering a new sensory connection to Chicago’s overlooked urban ecologies.
Experience one of the world’s great art museums, home to iconic collections that span centuries and cultures, and explore its role as a hub for design inspiration.
(Sold Out)
The 13-floor renovation of United Airlines’ HQ in Willis Tower prioritized carbon and emissions reduction through hybrid working and reuse. The redesigned, dynamic branded workspace advances sustainability goals and inspires over 3,000 employees through storytelling and shared experiences—rooted in United’s ethos: an airline where Good Leads the Way.
Get Social!
Xlab Offsite Chicago Social Events
Wednesday, Sept 17 | Experimental Station 4:30–7:30 PM
After your afternoon tour, join us at Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL 60637) from 4:30–7:30 PM for light bites and drinks sponsored by Electrosonic, Nanolumens, Pixera, and RLMG. The evening starts with a special manifesto from Bruce Mau to set the tone for the next day’s program.
After a full day of hands-on experimentation, continue the conversation at the historic DuSable Roundhouse (740 East 56th Place, Chicago, Illinois 60637) with an evening of light refreshments, live music, and great company sponsored by Daktronics.
Come for the ideas, stay for the conversations. 🍷🎶
