Esi Eshun
Esi Eshun's multidisciplinary response integrates sound and the overlay of archival images to tell the narratives behind specific features of the Jarvis Mural. He bases his interests on the history and location of some of the buildings in contrast to the figurative representations of indigenous characters.
She addresses the concept of time and investigates how iconography is a representation of the notion of Empire as well as a building within a moment in history. History has been constructed and deconstructed over time, but there is always one element that remains, as is the case with Portland Place 66.
Raise the Roof.- Building for Change by RIBA Collections. Photograph by Agnese Sanvito.
Thandi Loewenson
Thandi Loewenson's Blacklight piece uncovers stories of extraction, exploitation, and racialization that underlie the visible layers of the Jarvis Mural. With the help of Zhongshan Zou, she uses graphite as a drawing medium and as a plane, entering into a material dialogue with the elusive quality, brilliance and brilliance of working in and with the earth.
Arinjoy Sen
Arinjoy Sen's illustrative response to Jarvis's Mural that builds on the theatrical quality of the existing screen. His work will reveal the internal mechanisms not only within the screen itself but also the colonial narratives the mural references.
The notion of “carnivalesque” serves as an alteration of dominant assumptions, centrality of power, styles and narratives, while celebrating architecture as a laboratory for potential futures. The illustrative mural challenges outdated symbols of power and imperial narratives by imagining the RIBA as a site of reconstruction, foregrounding what was described as peripheral, marginalized and subservient.
Raise the Roof.- Building for Change by RIBA Collections. Photograph by Agnese Sanvito.
Giles Tettey Nartey
Giles Tettey Nartey's unique piece of furniture responds directly to the Florence Hall Dominion display. This object aims to create a space for visitors to interact and respond to the symbols that appear on the screen and represent the autonomous countries of the British Empire.
Challenging the relevance and meaning of these motifs, especially within architecture, Giles invites to create a conversation around the representation of architecture, asking people to consider what it means to be a British architect. He offers a space seeking to provide a platform for diverse perspectives, revealing the numerous cultural contributions and global networks that facilitate a multifaceted and vibrant exchange.
Raise the Roof.- Building for Change by RIBA Collections. Photograph by Agnese Sanvito.
“We can’t change the past, but we do have a responsibility to understand and learn from it. Confronting the uncomfortable truths woven into the very fabric of our headquarters, this exhibition represents a significant undertaking. Encouraging awareness, reflection and debate, it will inform how we interpret and contextualise RIBA’s history as we embark on a programme to sensitively refurbish the building ahead of its 100th anniversary. Ultimately, this is just a first step – we have initiated an important conversation that must expand and grow.”
Muyiwa Oki, president of RIBA.
“66 Portland Place is a fascinating building. Built by architects for architects in the 1930s, it tells us a lot about the beliefs and values of architects in that period, and how these reflected wider attitudes and prejudices in society. Working with architectural designers from the diaspora whose work intersects with craft and art practice, is a bold, if long overdue, step forward for the RIBA. I welcome this opportunity to critically engage with the building’s – and by extension architecture’s - complex past and imagine a hopeful and more inclusive future.”
Neal Shasore, CEO and Principal of the London School of Architecture.
Proposals are currently being developed for the RIBA House of Architecture, a transformative program that seeks to make architecture more accessible. The proposals include interventions that will make 66 Portland Place more accessible, sustainable and welcoming, as well as the RIBA's world-class collections and digital technology platform.
