Great Britain 2023

Title: Dancing Before the Moon
Commissioner: Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council
Curator: Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay e Sumitra Upham
Exhibitors: Yussef Agbo-Ola, Jayden Ali, Mac Collins, Shawanda Corbett, Madhav Kidao, Sandra Poulson

The Pavilion promotes the idea that everyday rituals are forms of spatial practice for diasporic communities and present new ways of thinking about architecture and the built environment. Collectively, this exhibition champions an expanded notion of architecture. One that is intangible, that cross-pollinates with performance, craft and other creative disciplines, and that is shaped by people.

Large-scale objects reflecting different cultural and geographical customs populate the pavilion – from a giant, futuristic domino carved from ash timber to a “bone temple” made of textiles. The exhibition demonstrates the need for architecture to look beyond buildings and economic structures and towards everyday social practices, customs and traditions in order to meaningfully reflect how people use and establish space.

In the UK, rituals practiced by diasporic communities are powerful vehicles for forging new spaces that promote cultures and traditions that are not considered in the planning of Britain’s built environment. Dancing Before the Moon celebrates those rituals and presents new ways of thinking about architecture beyond buildings and economic structures.