Expanding Agency and Decolonisation, a lecture by Luce Beeckmans, is part of a series of events in the project Expanding Agency: Women at Work in Modern Architecture, organised by 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.
In this second open lecture, Prof. Luce Beeckmans discusses the relationship between architecture, urbanism, and decolonisation. Using historical and contemporary examples, she deconstructs how colonial legacies have shaped and continue to shape the built environment and architectural knowledge today. The lecture then explores how decolonial perspectives challenge established ways of designing, researching, and teaching architecture, while opening space for more plural histories, voices, and futures.
By reconsidering whose histories are told, whose knowledge counts, and whose spatial practices are recognised as “architecture”, decolonial thinking urges us to expand our notion of agency within the field.
Programme
18:00 – 19:00 Walk-in with the possibility to visit the poster exhibition Expanding Agency - Reframed
19:00 – 21:00 Open lecture by Luce Beeckmans
21:00 Aftertalk and drinks
Speaker
Luce Beeckmans
is a Research Professor at the Department of Architecture (Faculty of Engineering, KU Leuven) and Vice-Director of the Leuven Urban Studies Institute (LUSI). Her research focuses on the relationship between urbanism and displacement, situating this within broader debates on spatial justice and decolonisation.
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.