artistic director yesomi umolu

2019 chicago architecture biennial highlight contributors:

the chicago architecture biennial announced the first group of contributors to the 2019 edition and its publication. titled …and other such stories, the biennial will form an expansive and multi-faceted exploration of the field of architecture and the built environment globally. the first 51 contributors — spanning the americas, europe, africa, and asia — form an initial, representative group, and include an early selection of ambitious commissioned projects. these projects will address key questions about the implications of architecture as it relates to land, memory, rights, and civic participation, and are particularly inspired by the history and conditions of the city of chicago.

the team is comprised of artistic director yesomi umolu, a contemporary art curator, and co-curators sepake angiama, a curator whose work centers on education, and paulo tavares, a brazil-based architect and academic.

[ exhibition contributors ]

adrian blackwell / lives in toronto, canada
akinbode akinbiyi / lives in berlin, germany
alejandra celedon & nicolas stutzin / both live in santiago, chile
architects for social housing (ash) / founded in london, england – uk
avijit mukul kishore & rohan shivkumar / both live in mumbai, india
black quantum futurism / founded in philadelphia, usa
borderless studio / founded in chicago, usa
camp / founded in mumbai, india
carolina caycedo / lives in los angeles, usa
center for spatial research / founded in new york, usa
clemens von wedemeyer / lives in berlin, germany
cohabitation strategies & urban front / founded in new york, usa
constructlab / founded in berlin, germany
daar (sandi hilal & alessandro petti) / founded in beit sahour, palestine
detroit planning department / founded in detroit, usa
do ho suh / lives in london, england – uk
fica–fundo imobiliário comunitário para aluguel / founded in são paulo, brazil
forensic architecture & invisible institute / founded in london, england – uk and chicago, usa
jimmy robert / lives in berlin, germany
joar nango / lives in romssa /tromsø, norway
keleketla! library / founded in johannesburg, south africa
maria gaspar / lives in chicago, usa
mass design group / founded in boston and poughkeepsie, usa; kigali, rwanda
ola hassanain / lives in khartoum, sudan and utrecht, netherlands
rma architects / founded in mumbai, india; boston, usa
sammy baloji & filip de boeck / both live in brussels, belgium and lubumbashi, democratic republic of the congo
settler colonial city project / founded in ann arbor usa and guayaquil, ecuador
somatic collaborative (felipe correa & devin dobrowolski) / founded in new york, usa
studiobasar / founded in bucharest, romania
sweet water foundation / founded in chicago, usa
tania bruguera & association of arte útil / bruguera lives in new york, usa / association of arte útil founded in havana, cuba
tanya lukin linklater & tiffany shaw-collinge / linklater lives in ontario, canada; shaw-collinge lives in alberta, canada
territorial agency—john palmesino & ann-sofi rönnskog / founded in london, england – uk
the funambulist / founded in paris, france
theaster gates / lives in chicago, usa
usina – ctah / founded in são paulo, brazil
vincent meessen / lives in brussels, belgium
wendelien van oldenborgh / lives in berlin, germany
wolff architects / founded in cape town, south africa

[ catalogue contributors ]

aviwe mandyanda (blackstudio) / lives in johannesburg, south africa
carmen silva / lives in são paulo, brazil
cheyanne turions / lives in vancouver, canada
columbia books on architecture and the city / founded in new york, usa
dr. denise ferreira da silva / lives in vancouver, canada
ella / founded in los angeles, usa
emmanuel pratt / lives in chicago, usa
eduardo o. kohn / lives in montreal, canada
inam kula / lives in cape town, south africa
lesley lokko / lives in johannesburg, south africa
pelin tan / lives in mardin, turkey
vincent tao / lives in vancouver, canada

[ history of the biennial ]

the chicago architecture biennial is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to creating an international forum on architecture and urbanism through the production of exhibitions and public programs. the manifestation of mayor rahm emanuel’s vision for a major international architectural event and an outcome of the comprehensive cultural plan developed by chicago’s department of cultural affairs and special events, under the leadership of michelle t. boone, the inaugural 2015 chicago architecture biennial was presented through the support of bp, and in partnership with the city of chicago and the graham foundation. joseph grima and sarah herda, co-artistic directors, curated the 2015 biennial, entitled the state of the art of architecture. through its constellation of exhibitions, full-scale installations, and programming, the 2015 chicago architecture biennial invited the public to engage with and think about architecture in new and unexpected ways, and to take part in a global discussion on the future of the field.

the 2019 third edition of the biennial will run from 19 september 2019 – 5 january 2020.