The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985

The Museum of Modern Art announces The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985, an exhibition that will explore the ways modern architecture in the region gave shape and expression to idealistic societal visions and emancipatory politics of the post-independence period. On view from February 20, 2022, through July 2, 2022, this exhibition will comprise over 200 works, including original sketches, drawings, photographs, films, audiovisual components, and architectural models, sourced primarily from prominent lenders and institutions in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

The featured projects—by key figures such as Balkrishna V. Doshi (India), the only South Asian winner of the Pritzker Prize in Architecture; Minnette de Silva, the first woman to become a licensed architect in Sri Lanka; and Yasmeen Lari, the first woman to qualify as architect in Pakistan, to name a few—will address how architecture mediated the process of decolonization and modernization for these emerging nation-states.

The Project of Independence is organized by Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, Anoma Pieris, guest curator and Professor, The University of Melbourne, and Sean Anderson, former Associate Curator, with Evangelos Kotsioris, Assistant Curator, Department of Architecture and Design. The curatorial team consulted with leading scholars of modern architecture from the region, many of whom also contributed to the accompanying exhibition catalogue.

Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka, East Pakistan (Bangladesh). 1968. Louis Berger and Consulting Engineers (est. 1953). Daniel Dunham (1929–2000) and Robert Boughey (b. 1940). Exterior view. Photograph: Randhir Singh
When
20 February to 2 July 2022
Where
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
11 West 53rd Street
10019 New York, USA
Organizer
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Link
MoMA Press Office

Magazine