Portraits of Practice

The Portraits of Practice event series accompanies the exhibition on show in the AA Gallery titled Portraits of a Practice: The Life and Work of MJ Long. The series takes the themes and topics explored within the exhibition as its starting point to discuss feminist practice and the gendering of spaces and objects within architecture and its related disciplines.

Thursday 19 October
Wikipedia edit-a-thon

An afternoon workshop in the AA Library to improve the representation of women and non-binary architects on Wikipedia.

Thursday 16 November
Trailblazing Realities: Female Pioneers in the History of Virtual Reality
Rebecca Allen, Rhiarna Dhaliwal, Martina Menegon, Jacki Morie and Tamiko Thiel, chaired by Paula Strunden

To uncover the untold stories of female pioneers in the history of virtual reality (VR), a cross-generational debate hosted by Paula Strunden on embodied virtuality, gender, and identity in VR will build on the insights gathered from the Air AA podcast on 'Female Pioneers in the History of VR.'

Thursday 23 November
Feminist Practice
Edit collective, Georges Massoud, Space Black, Sarah Wigglesworth

From working as either individuals or collectives to questioning gender roles, from rethinking the scales, choreography and forms of labour within domestic space, to designing for the blurriness between this and other spaces of care in the private and public realms – there are a multitude of ways to practice as a feminist architect. This conversation invites practitioners to collectively discuss different forms of feminist practice and the impact it has on both the profession of architecture and the making of our built environment.

Tuesday 28 November
Making Visible
Sarah Ackland, Yushi Li, PART W

Making Visible invites participants to collectively discuss how through mapping, hearing and imaging women, we can make their enormous contributions to architecture and their role in society more visible.

Thursday 30 November
Non-Normative Worlds
Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Lina Ashou, Kiara (KiKi) Gilbert, Manijeh Verghese

‘Non-Normative Worlds’ sees “queering” as an approach that unifies once marginalised peoples. Organised by Madeleine Griffiths and Doreen Bernath, the event brings together spatial practices that intentionally critique, dismantle, and disrupt these norms to build new worlds. The event takes on an experimental format of seminar-workshop where presentations are spontaneously opened up to responses and improvised co-creation.

Friday 1 December
Sensitive Spaces
Lina Ghotmeh

“Archaeology of the future” is an approach to the built landscape established by Lina Ghotmeh throughout her practice. Her designs develop from thorough historical research, emerging as interventions that enliven our memories and senses. Lina Ghotmeh will talk about her practice's emphasis on the power of craft and that of the hand in the making of architecture.

Saturday 2 December
AA Members’ gallery tour and doll’s house workshop
A workshop for AA students, Members to join families from Care4Calais in the building of a giant doll’s house in the AA entrance, whilst exploring ideas of care and work.

Thursday 7 December
A World in Miniature: The Story of a Doll’s House and an Architectural Model
Elena Palacios Carral, Isabella Synek Herd and Rolfe Kentish

What is the difference between a doll’s house and an architectural model? In the exhibition Portraits of a Practice: The Life and Work of MJ Long, there are two doll’s houses that exist in dialogue – one made at home, and one in practice. In this discussion Elena Palacios Carral, Isabella Synek Herd and Rolfe Kentish will discuss the two doll’s houses as well as how they can be understood as architectural models in their own right, especially in their ability to replicate (and perhaps alter) reality in miniature.

Please get in touch to let us know of any access requirements that you might have and how we can best accommodate these. If you are unable to attend physically but would like to participate in the event remotely please email publicprogramme@aaschool.ac.uk.

The Portraits of a Practice: The Life and Work of MJ Long exhibition is on show in the AA Gallery until 9 December. Open Monday - Saturday, 11am - 7pm.

Image credit: Yushi Li