Design Exhibition Debut: “Optimist in Action”

Optimist in Action marked the debut exhibition of architect Andre Gomez, held at All Street Gallery on December 3, 2022. The show presented a collection of original design ideas and social critiques exploring how design thinking can reshape cities and the social systems that contain them.

The exhibition’s central themes—“No Building in Isolation / Skyzoning” and “Public Art for Energy and Education”—illustrated how architecture and public space could be reimagined as productive, civic infrastructures that serve the collective good rather than for private capital interest. Complementary proposals, including “New, New York” and “A Waste Revolution for NYC,” showcased speculative urban projects: one envisioning right-of-way improvements to prioritize pedestrians and clean infrastructure, and another proposing an automated waste and recycling network for Manhattan’s streets.

Hosted in a modest ground-floor storefront, the open-door event welcomed an audience of neighbors, passersby, and first-time visitors. The accessible format reflected the artist’s belief that design discourse should exist within public reach. Following the exhibition, strong community interest in the automated waste proposal led Gomez to submit the idea for The David Prize, a New York–based grant supporting civic innovation. The submission advanced to the third round of review, further validating the project’s public potential.