“Flyover country,” “the middle of nowhere,” and other stereotypes describe the rural in ways that are sometimes subtle, sometimes overt. The rural is not emergent or something new to discover. These are places and communities with complex cultural contexts and histories that challenge metronormativity.

Reorienting the Rural opens dialogues around the ways rural folx, communities, and architectures are often misrepresented, flattened, or made invisible in contemporary discourse. Landscape architect and scholar Julia Badenhope, artist collective Queer Appalachia, and design journalist Zach Mortice bring nuance and site sensitivity to rural-specific conversations and rural resistance. Reorienting the Rural is convened by Alex Priest, Chicago Architecture Biennial Assistant Curator.