Point Line Projects supports editorial and curatorial projects in architecture, art, and design. Our creative team shepherds projects from concept to completion, driving meaningful conversations across a variety of media and platforms.
Our Team
PLP draws on a vetted network of writers, researchers, editors, and photographers for each project. Want to join our team? Check here for upcoming internship and employment opportunities, and to join our freelance pool.
Sarah Rafson, Founder / Creative Director (she/her)
Sarah Rafson is an architecture writer, researcher, editor, and curator. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Columbia University's Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices program, she has worked on books with Kenneth Frampton, Bernard Tschumi, and Barry Bergdoll, and collaborated on exhibitions at MoMA, Centre Pompidou, Center for Architecture in New York, and the Parsons School of Design. She currently curates public programs at Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture, where she also teaches.
Candace Opper, Senior Editor (she/her)
Candace Opper (b. New Haven, CT) has more than a decade of experience working as a writer, editor, and content creator. Since receiving her MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Portland State University, she has worked with a variety of arts organizations, small businesses, and individuals, doing everything from marketing to operations to producing podcasts to keeping the books. At Point Line Projects, she combines her writing, arts, and communications background into a dream job.
Opper is the author of Certain and Impossible Events (Kore Press, 2021), and her writing has appeared in publications such as Guernica, Longreads, Narratively Literary Hub, and Creative Nonfiction, among others.
Makenzie O’Connor, Design & Communications Coordinator (she/they)
Makenzie O’Connor (b. Melbourne, FL) holds a BS in Global Health from Allegheny College and an MS in Design Science from the University of Michigan. Over the past 5 years, she has worked as a graphic designer, marketer, and content creator. While maintaining a personal art practice, her independent research considers sensory perception sensitivities due to embodied trauma, exploring biophilic approaches to soft architecture.
On the Point Line Projects team, Makenzie pairs her marketing experience with her background in the arts and architecture.
Jedd Hakimi, Editorial and Operations Manager (he/him)
Jedd Hakimi is a media scholar, university instructor, editor, and spreadsheet connoisseur. With a BA in Literature (NYU), an MA in Humanities (University of Chicago), and a PhD in Film and Media Studies (University of Pittsburgh), Jedd brings expertise in editing, writing, research, and visual analysis.
Jedd’s scholarship explores architecture and urbanism in cinema and video games; aesthetics and design under the first amendment; and museum collections of video games. Over the past ten years, Jedd has taught classes on subjects including visual culture, video games, contemporary film, and essay composition. He has a wide range of interests and a knack for getting to the point.
Jedd is thrilled to join PLP full-time to manage day-to-day operations and complex editorial projects.
Contributors
Ilana Curtis, Now What?! Coordinator: Ilana Curtis (b. Boston, MA) holds a BA in Architectural Studies and Studio Arts from the University of Pittsburgh. Her independent research examines affordable housing with a particular focus on modernist housing estates in Berlin, Germany.
Ilana worked with Point Line Projects from its inception, first as an intern and then as Editorial and Brand Manager, contributing to several pivotal projects. In her current contributor role, she continues to collaborate on the nationwide exhibition installation of Now What?!
Emily Allan (she/her) is a designer, artist, and maker based in Toronto. In 2020 she graduated from Ryerson University with a B.Des in Interior Design and specialization in design fabrication. Emily’s creative interests are guided by an approach that centres hands-on learning and experimental design that is approachable and sustainable. Currently Emily is exploring circular design techniques within textile art and tiny-house nomadism. She also makes pneumatics and researches plastic re-use as part of her shared design collective studio rat. Learn more about Emily through her linktree.
Emily loves working remotely to support PLP with graphic design and marketing projects.
Kami Beckford (she/her) is in her final year studying architecture + theatre at the University of Pittsburgh, exploring the intersection of architecture and scenic design. She organizes with Design as Protest, a collective of designers moving to dismantle the structures that use architecture as a tool of oppression - in practice and in education. You can learn more about her on her website and on Instagram.
Students
We are thrilled to offer meaningful internships to students from many of Pittsburgh’s institutions including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University, and Chatham University.
Due to the ongoing unpredictability of COVID-19, our internships will indefinitely be remote. Though we miss being able to work alongside our interns, this has enabled us to work with students and emerging professionals from a variety of locations, including New York, New Jersey, Palo Alto, and Quebec.
Fall 2021 Intern
Richard Gessert (he/him/his) is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he studied art history. Richard joins PLP with arts administration experience from the Art Institute in the departments of modern and contemporary art as well as architecture and design. Richard is also a designer and artist and has created work at the intersection of both fields. His interests include the overlap between architecture, site-specificity, installation art, and public art. This fall, Richard is eager to use his writing, editing, and research skills to support PLP’s editorial and curatorial projects. You can find Richard on Instagram and Twitter.
Past Contributors & Interns
Below are some of the fantastic individuals who have worked with us.
Natasha Tabachnikoff, Research Associate
Chahni Peeples, Research Associate
Natalia Zdaniuk, Contributing Editor
Aleeza Furman, Editorial Assistant
Avocet Greenwell, Editorial Assistant
Emily Ebersol, Research Assistant, Fall 2016, Spring 2017
Kyle Wing, Curatorial Assistant, Summer 2016, Spring 2017
Aby Sobotka-Briner, Editorial Intern, Spring 2017
KelliLaurel Mijares, Curatorial Assistant, Spring 2017
Sarah Grossman, Curatorial Intern, Summer 2017
Jennifer Wang, Editorial Intern, Summer 2017
Iris Wang, Curatorial Intern, Fall 2017
Amanda Bartko, Development & Marketing Intern, Fall 2017
Kyleen Pickering, Editorial Assistant, Spring 2018
Jakob Uhlenhopp, Curatorial Assistant, Spring 2018
Avocet Greenwell, Editorial Intern, Fall 2018
Jai Kanodia, Development Intern, Spring 2019
Abigail Salmon, Editorial Intern, Spring 2019
Kenneth Wahrenberger, Research Intern, Spring 2019
Anna Kate Payha, Editorial Intern, Summer 2019
Dominique Seneca, Curatorial Intern, Summer 2019
Claudia Haines, Editorial/Curatorial Intern, Fall 2019
Jesse Solomon, Graphic Design Intern, Fall 2019
Camryn Drabenstadt, Graphic Design Intern, Spring 2020
Joanna Harlacher, Editorial/Curatorial Intern, Spring 2020
Mimi Jiao, Graphic Design Intern, Summer 2020
Jennifer Gray, Editorial Intern, Summer 2020
Max Goldner, Curatorial Intern, Summer 2020
Linsen Chai, Editorial/Curatorial Intern, Summer 2020
Chenoa Baker, Editorial/Curatorial Intern, Fall 2020
Antonio Tharp, Graphic Design Intern & Graphic Designer, Fall 2020
Chen Chen, Graphic Design Intern, Summer 2021
Jacqueline Hampshire, Editorial/Curatorial Intern, Summer 2021
Akanksha Tayal, PLP Fellow, Summer 2021
Est. April 2016, Pittsburgh, PA.