Marking International Women’s Day 2023, the national women’s advocacy group Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation will release its debut episode of Season 2 of the acclaimed audio documentary series, New Angle: Voice. Starting March 8 and following a highly successful first season, New Angle: Voicecontinues to document the lives and legacies of pioneering yet under-recognized women in the history of architecture and design, beginning with the story of groundbreaking designer Ray Eames.
In 2022 the audio documentary series, which blossomed into a national hit with tens of thousands of dedicated listeners, won major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the prestigious Graham Foundation. The second season’s premiere on March 8, International Women’s Day, presents an insightful and rich narrated history of Ray Eames (1912-1988), whose pioneering contributions in the arts, architecture, graphic design, textile design and furniture innovation have had a profound effect on the trajectory of those fields.
“Our original story about Ray Eames draws on new research of her years as a painter in New York, from archival footage and audio of her media appearances as well as interviews with Eames family members and employees of Eames Office, their design studio in Venice, California,” says Cynthia Phifer Kracauer AIA, creative leader of the series and executive director of Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF). “The interviews also offer a deep-dive into manufacturer Herman Miller’s archives, showcasing the bold ideas sometimes obscured by Ray’s self-effacing public persona.”
The pioneering audio series New Angle: Voice is created and produced by BWAF and its executive director Phifer Kracauer, who is joined in conceiving and producing the audio documentaries by noted writer and editor Alexandra Lange Ph.D. and the acclaimed producer Brandi Howell. The primary sponsor of New Angle: Voice is MillerKnoll, a collective of dynamic brands and an influential modern design company.
