This year’s 14th annual list honors a wide-ranging group of individuals across an array of industries
Sharon Prince has been named to Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business list which annually recognizes individuals making a cultural impact through bold achievements that have never before been accomplished in their chosen fields. This prestigious and diverse list includes leading professionals across multiple industries who are carving fresh paths, paving the way for innovation and inspiration, and leading with creativity. Prince’s recognition for “cleaning up construction” highlighted her work launching Design for Freedom, Grace Farms’ new movement to eliminate forced labor from the built environment.
Sharon Prince at Grace Farms (photo by Ryan Slack)
Prince has galvanized more than 80 leaders from the architectural, engineering, construction, design, and media industries to join her to raise awareness of forced labor in the building materials supply chain and initiate institutional responses to design and build more humanely. Since Prince launched Design for Freedom in 2020, Grace Farms has issued a ground-breaking report, launched a dedicated website with tools and resources, and created the Design for Freedom Toolkit, a comprehensive resource for design and construction professionals to implement ethical, forced-labor free materials sourcing strategies into their practices.
Notably, the past year, under Prince’s leadership, Grace Farms partnered with leading cultural and educational institutions and artists on Design for Freedom Pilot Projects. There are currently five pilot projects in the U.S., U.K., and India, including the 21st Serpentine Pavilion designed by Theaster Gates (London, U.K.); a new center for arts and culture with Serendipity Arts (New Delhi, India); Shadow of a Face, a monument to Harriet Tubman by Nina Cooke John (Newark, N.J.); the New Canaan Library (New Canaan, CT); and Temporal Shift by Alyson Shotz, a sculpture on view at Grace Farms.
Everyone included on this year’s list has “accomplished something recently that no one has before, something meaningful that’s already making a difference,” wrote Jill Bernstein, Editorial Director, Fast Company.
Fast Company notes, “In 2020 Prince created the Design for Freedom movement, a partnership of 80 construction industry leaders that tracks building materials made with slave labor and works to get those products out of the supply chain for building and development projects. Prince has managed to convince some of the biggest companies in the building industry to put time and staff resources into scrutinizing their supply chains to find and eliminate products reliant on slavery.”
