what we embody
COLERE is a Latin word with several meanings - to cultivate, inhabit, take care of, to worship - all words that require relationship. As a multi-faceted concept, COLERE is a reminder of the purpose of any labor: to care for ourselves, one another and places and spaces we share.
what we practice
We practice building relational infrastructure.
This is not the kind of architecture that designs buildings. It’s the kind that designs the underlying structures through which communities access, create and use their power, resources, and voice.
We work at the level of the infrastructure on which a program/service runs.
We work at the level of structure — the underlying architecture of how communities and institutions relate to each other, how resources flow, how decisions get made, and who has a voice in shaping all of the above. The most important design work happens in the underlying architecture — the structures, processes, and relationships that determine and influence how institutions and communities relate to each other over time.
We partner with community to work towards durable change for improved quality of life.
Our approach is community-centered by necessity, not by aspiration. Community knowledge is the primary building material, which necessitates the direction of accountability in every engagement run toward community. When (re)structuring social + relational infrastructure, the work of COLERE is to facilitate navigating the space between worlds; the ambiguous, liminal spaces between sensing, meaning, and making. This is steady-paced, deeply consequential work that unlocks the collective imagination, power and resources to build sustainable systems that contribute to long-term, durable change for improved quality of life.
anthena gore
principal facilitator + strategic designer
Anthena Gore is a Chicago-based social-environmental strategist and facilitator with 15 years of experience at the intersection of environmental justice, community planning, and design research. She founded COLERE to close the persistent gap between what communities know and what institutions do.