British Council opens doors to ‘Dancing Before the Moon’ designed by JA Projects
The British Council and the commissioned curators – Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay, and Sumitra Upham – present a new exhibition for the British Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2023. Dancing Before the Moon is a celebratory journey of new work by six UK-based artists and architects with JA Projects leading the exhibition design. Through film and objects, these artists, Yussef Agbo-Ola, Madhav Kidao, Sandra Poulson, Mac Collins, Shawanda Corbett, and Jayden Ali, highlight the central role that rituals play in reflecting the traditions and community values of people living in the UK.
The curatorial team’s vision for Dancing Before the Moon was to recognise and uphold the objects and rituals of diaspora communities in the architectural space while elevating the hands and voices that made them.
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.
The artworks unearth ritualistic acts acknowledging everyday rituals from different global settings: architecture and textile traditions in Cherokee and Yoruba culture; Hindu and Buddhist belief in the afterlife; outdoor washing in Angola; healing spiritual practices in the American south; Jamaican dominoes in Nottingham; and the craft of Trinidadian steel pan drum-making and Cypriot outdoor cooking.
The exhibition was designed to uphold the ritualistic acts of the artworks. A single artwork is exhibited in the centre of each gallery space and is surrounded by a material that references the stories, histories and geographies it is rooted in. This framing retains the original stories of the object and becomes a catalyst for new rituals through collective imaginaries.
The main hall of the pavilion has a large cinematic installation with a film made that observes those acts in different cultural and geographic settings by the curators with numerous collaborators. The accompanying soundtrack includes original music and has been devised by Oscar #Worldpeace and Fredwave.
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 ultimately shaped by people. This installation responds to the wider themes of the Biennale Architettura 2023 - The Laboratory of the Future – giving audiences a chance to imagine different futures where collaboration, experimentation and equity are prioritised in the planning of space in the UK.
Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay, and Sumitra Upham said:
“The British Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2023 celebrates what it means for people to create and occupy space. Through the lens of South Asian, African and Caribbean diasporas in Britain, Dancing Before the Moon explores how rituals have the potential to uniquely adapt and challenge the built environment.
"Here social and temporal practices are upheld for enhancing attachment to land, transforming space and binding communities. Thank you to our incredible artists and collaborators for transforming the pavilion into a place that respects the past and represents a future for British architecture - one with the ability to shape conceptions of place, culture and belonging. We are looking forward to engaging in the conversations generated by work that powerfully demonstrates the spatial ingenuity of communities from across the world.”
To find out more about the curators and the commissioned artists and architects, please go to vist the British Council website here.
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The 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is open 20 May – 26 November 2023.
The British Pavilion is commissioned and managed by British Council Architecture.
Commissioner: Sevra Davies, Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at British Council.
Images: Taran Wilkhu
Film: John Ingle