Search Work: A Collective Inquiry into the Job Hunt with Rachel Meade Smith and Elaine Lopez
Date: Friday, April 24, 2026
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM EST
Location: MA Design Research, Writing and Criticism (D-CRIT) SVA, 136 W. 21st Street, Floor 2
A conversation in celebration of Search Work: A Collective Inquiry into the Job Hunt, a new book edited by Rachel Meade Smith
Join us for an evening with Rachel Meade Smith, editor of Search Work and author of the long-running newsletter Words of Mouth, for a conversation on job hunting, labor, design, and the search for meaningful work. Rachel will be joined by designer, researcher, and educator Elaine Lopez for a presentation and discussion drawn from the book, moderated by D-Crit alumnus Ailsa Petrie. This event is hosted by SVA MA Design Research, Writing and Criticism, MFA Design for Social Innovation, and MFA Interaction Design.
Search Work asks what we uncover when we pause and examine the textures of something as mundane and tedious as the job hunt. Bringing together more than fifty contributors across personal essays, archival job ads, labor research, and other forms, the anthology explores how the search for a paycheck so often becomes something deeper: a search for belonging, identity, and orientation in a changing world of work.
The book grew out of Words of Mouth, the free weekly newsletter Rachel Meade Smith began nearly a decade ago, which shares opportunities for good work and creative expansion with a large international readership. As entry-level paths vanish and AI reshapes the labor landscape, Search Work offers a timely and refreshingly critical look at the isolating, strange, and often absurd experience of job hunting.
A reception and book signing will follow the talk.
Learn more about the book: Search Work: A Collective Inquiry into the Job Hunt, OR Books (April 2026)
Rachel Meade Smith is a writer, editor, and civic design worker focused on information access and the world of work. Since 2016, she has authored Words of Mouth, a free newsletter that shares opportunities for good work and creative expansion with readers around the globe.
Elaine Lopez is a Cuban-American designer, researcher, and educator exploring cultural identity, print culture, and socially engaged design. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Parsons School of Design, where she teaches Thesis, Riso printing, and typography.