In conversation with Menna Agha, Kathleen James Chakraborty and Tasneem Nagi
Expanding Agency: Women, Race and Modern Architecture is part of a series of events in the project Expanding Agency: Women at Work in Modern Architecture, organised by Stad & Architectuur (S&A), PAF and KU Leuven. By learning from historical perspectives, we explore how the work of women and people of color, often invisible in architectural history, shapes our architecture and cities today.
The event will take place in a hybrid format, with Menna Agha joining us online and Kathleen James-Chakraborty and Tasneem Nagi attending in person.
Programme
18:00 – 19:00 Walk-in with the possibility to visit the poster exhibition Expanding Agency - Reframed
19:00 – 20:00 Conversation with speakers
20:00 – 20:45 Small group conversations
20:45 – 21:00 Reflections and collective closing
21:00 Aftertalk and drinks
Moderator
Tasneem Nagi
(1992) is an urban researcher and development practitioner with over a decade of experience working on issues of forced displacement, migration, and housing justice. Originally trained as an architect at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, she went on to earn an MSc from UCL’s The Bartlett Development Planning Unit and a PhD from KU Leuven. Her doctoral research examines the interplay between the multiscalar politics of bordering and the everyday homing practices of displaced people and their collectives.
Speakers
Kathleen James-Chakraborty
is a historian of modern architecture. Since 2007 she has been professor of art history at University College Dublin, where she leads project “Expanding Agency: Women, Race, and the Global Dissemination of Modern Architecture,” funded by the European Research Council. She is particularly interested in the relationship between the profession of architecture and its publics.
Menna Agha
is a Nubian architect and researcher and the Associate Professor of Design and Spatial Justice. Her work focuses on race, gender, and the space of displacement.
Tickets
5€ student / 10€ regular / 15€ support ticket/ 0€ (pay what you can). If these prices do not fit your situation, you can choose a free ticket. Pre-registration is required via the button below.
This ticket also gives you access to the poster exhibition Expanding Agency - Reframed.
Everyone is welcome to join this conversation. No prior knowledge is needed. We create a warm, open space where every voice is welcome.
Poster exhibition
From 29 November to 3 January, the poster exhibition Expanding Agency – Reframed will be on display at the University Library Leuven. On the one hand, the exhibition sheds light on underrepresented figures and roles within modern architecture; on the other, it invites further debate. How did patriarchal and colonial structures shape access to the architectural profession? How have these structures influenced the ways in which women and people of color have practiced, and continue to practise, architecture? And which forms of knowledge, collaboration, and expertise remain overlooked today? By literally and figuratively reframing the posters, Stad & Architectuur, PAF, and KU Leuven situate them within contemporary debates on gender, decolonisation, intersectionality, and knowledge production.
Accessibility
The event will be held in English. We will do our best to offer ad hoc (whisper) translations if needed.
The space where the conversation will take place (second floor) is unfortunately not accessible by elevator. Please contact us (manon.rupus@stadenarchitectuur.be) so that we can provide adequate assistance.