Solon, Ohio -- Tarkett recently announced its national title sponsorship of the Design Museum Foundation’s upcoming exhibition, We Design: People. Practice. Progress. The sponsorship is an important step in a multi-year plan to make diversity, equity and inclusion a major company focus, both internally and in collaboration with the architecture and design industry.

Tarkett doesn't consider itself just a flooring manufacturer, but a collaborative partner to and member of the architecture and design community. For years, our community has been discussing the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion on its teams, but progress has been slow and intermittent. Despite a variety of efforts to improve, architecture continues to be "among the least diverse professions in America," as Brenden Jackson wrote for GenslerOn.

In response, Tarkett has committed to a series of initiatives over the next several years to support real and measurable change.

“Our relationship with Design Museum on the We Design exhibit is an important step to bringing broader awareness and collaboration around this need. We realize this is no small endeavor, but diversifying our talent is both the right thing to do, and critical to the future relevance of our professional and cultural contributions,” said Mausi McDaniel, vice president of brand and design marketing, Tarkett North America.

We Design is a multimedia exhibition celebrating a variety of creative professionals—of differing ages, genders, backgrounds, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and abilities—showcasing their unique career paths through stories and photos, along with examples of their work throughout their careers, including design process imagery and artifacts. The exhibition also explores the need for more diversity in the design and innovation industries through quantitative and qualitative data visualizations and case studies.

“We are thrilled to partner with Tarkett on this important program” said Liz Pawlak, vice president of Design Museum Foundation. “Their support will enable us to bring We Design to more locations both locally and nationally, to showcase and celebrate the range of career paths, people and professions in the design industry.”

This exhibition will be free and open to the public, premiering in early October 2019 at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Roxbury, Mass. From there, the exhibition will continue to travel around Greater Boston and beyond, over a multi-year period, and will eventually be cataloged in a print publication.

“Tarkett is delighted to be working with Design Museum on this important endeavor for the design industry," McDaniel added. "Diversity, equity and inclusion is a major focus in our business and we view this collaboration as another step towards driving positive change. We know design aesthetic and function are vastly improved when we are inclusive of diverse perspectives. Too many voices have been pushed away from the table for far too long, and we’re excited to be a small part of changing that."

For more information, visit www.tarkettna.com.