This event was recorded June 30, 2026 at Schermer Meeting Hall, produced by Avalanche Ranch Arts Center, in partnership with Aspen Public Radio.
This program is for art and design enthusiasts who want to better understand the influence of culture and identity on the continually refreshed design legacy that fills our world today. A lively conversation about contemporary design with Nifemi Marcos-Bello, acclaimed Nigerian artist and designer, Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Director of Design at the Judd Foundation, and Kelsey Keith, Creative Director at MillerKnoll. They discuss Marcus-Bello’s Nigerian roots and cultural impact on his designs. Cameron provides historical context for the intersecting fields of art and design, while Keith illuminates the commercial discipline of design and enterprise-level branding.
Panel:
Alexandra Cunningham Cameron is a curator, editor, and strategist whose work explores the intersecting fields of design, art, fashion, and media. She is the Director of Design at the Judd Foundation.
Kelsey Keith is currently creative director of MillerKnoll and author of a design newsletter called Ground Condition. She initially joined Herman Miller in 2021 after a dozen years leading design and architecture-focused editorial outlets. Formerly from New York City, she now lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband and their two daughters.
Nifemi Marcus-Bello is a designer whose practice bridges commercial and artistic disciplines. His work is guided by a philosophy that values intuition, resourcefulness, and deep engagement with context. Nifemi’s strength lies in his exploration of materials and his fearless pursuit of new forms and typologies, resulting in truly distinctive products and experiences.
His work and design contributions are held in the collections of major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Design Museum London, among others.
He is the recipient of several international honors, including a Special Mention at the Loewe Craft Prize, the Hublot Design Prize, Monocle’s Emerging Designer Award, and was shortlisted for the Wallpaper* Designer of the Year Award in 2026.