Meet the 2023 Open House Festival Guest Curators
The Open House Festival team are delighted to announce a stellar line up of Guest Curators for this years festival. The selected group of Londoners hail from diverse backgrounds within the built environment and their curated festival collections and events will explore various themes and narratives from within their own practice and experiences of architecture and the built environment. Below we introduce you to our 2023 Guest Curators and a sneak peak into what their collections and events will be exploring ahead of the festival programme.
Jim Stephenson and Sofia Smith said of being selected as guest curators:
“Open City is always a highlight of the year - who doesn’t like getting to look round somewhere new? We’re really happy to be asked to guest curate a list this year and in the spirit of the festival we’ve put together a selection of buildings that reflect the maxim that architecture is for everyone. Every building on this list is for their communities. From a revitalised industrial estate at Lockwood Way to the Victorian Westminster Chapel now open for everyone. Go see them and discover the joy and pride these spaces bring!”
JIM STEPHENSON + SOFIA SMITH
Jim Stephenson
Jim has a degree in Architectural Technology, and after working in practice for several years both in the UK and US, he turned to photography (over 15 years ago) and has been working internationally ever since. He is also the founder of the non-profit arts organisation Miniclick which has striven to eliminate the culture of gatekeeping in the photography world for over 10 years.
His photography and filmmaking work is hallmarked by a passion for community led projects, and a keen eye for human interaction with architecture and design, often reflecting the multi-sensory experience of spending time in the build environment. Jim’s award winning photography and films have a meditative documentary style, and he has cultivated a specialist practice which allows for fleeting moments of light, and people at play to be celebrated.
Sofia Smith
Sofia Smith is a writer, researcher and visual artist with an educational background in English Literature, Critical Theory, Creative Writing and Fine Art Photography. She has worked in collaboration with artists, designers and photographers for many years, often in research, art direction and curatorial roles, as well as editing and planning. She is the co-founder of Capturing The Chimera; an arts education organisation that teaches interdisciplinary approaches to creativity and a curatorial member of the non-profit photography group Miniclick.
Her personal work shows her interest in collaborative creative practice, acts of transformation, collection and compulsion, as well as an interest in mythology and folklore.Sofia is the studio manager at Stephenson& and brings her knowledge of storytelling to the pre-production and editing process.
Their collection:
In the spirit of the 2023 festival we have curated a list of London spaces for you to visit that reflect the maxim that architecture, much like art, is for everyone. We love to travel and through our work around the UK and abroad we have seen a lot of buildings, but on this list, this time, you won’t find any private houses or grand office buildings. We have selected community used spaces that aren’t your ordinary examples of investment in people and places. Often understated, sustainable and multipurpose, we hope our choices can serve as inspirations for what is possible. We are championing them because we believe that spaces like these make the people who use them feel like they too are deserving of beautiful, warm and open built environments, places that don’t tell you how to behave, but instead offer a welcoming smile and a hot cup of tea. Places where children and young people don’t feel like they are trespassing, but instead were built for them.
NABIL AL-KINANI
Nabil Al-Kinani is a British-Iraqi built-environment professional and creative practitioner raised in Wembley, he possesses a keen interest in urbanism, cultural placemaking, sustainable development and spatial politics. His research largely focuses on “spaces” and “stories”. Addressing questions such as: Who designs space? Who has access to newly-created space? What’s the cultural impact of these newly-created spaces? Who are new spaces being built for? Who is affected by newly-created space? What are the narratives that must be preserved when new spaces are being created?
His works include: Authors of the Estate, Privatise the Mandem and Pipe Dreams.
His Collection:
Imperial Nostalgia & the Built Environment – A thought-provoking keynote address followed by a panel discussion exploring the theme of imperial nostalgia in the built environment, using Wembley as a case study. Delve into the history and cultural significance of this piece of London and examine the ways in which it reflects our changing attitudes towards empire and colonialism. This event creates an opportunity to gain insight into one of the most fascinating and controversial topics in modern architecture and design.
PATCH COLLECTIVE
Nyima Murry & Betty Owoo are founding members of PATCH Collective - a multidisciplinary group of POC spatial practitioners. Their work centres around creating spatial interventions, designing ephemeral events and curating intimate discussions, all through the lens of being of a diaspora.
Nyima Murry is a British-Tibetan architectural designer, curator and filmmaker. She is currently undertaking a Masters in Landscape Architecture at the Bartlett, UCL.
Betty Owoo is a London-based spatial designer, educator and writer. Trained in architecture, she uses design and communication to tell stories and solve problems in the physical and digital realm.
Their Collection:
“Holding Space” spotlights the many different ways communities are carving out space through place and food.
Shifting the focus from London’s geographic centre, “Holding Space” explores the polycentric nature of London to celebrate the diverse network of communities that gives the city its quality. For our collection, we’ve been exploring buildings that uplift and serve communities on London’s periphery and edges, and pairing our suggested itinerary with a dish from a neighbourhood diasporic eatery.
PRUDENCE IVEY
Prudence Ivey is the editor of the Evening Standard's weekley Homes & Property supplement.
Her collection:
Having spent a decade snooping around London homes, she has curated a selection of dwellings chosen to illustrate the huge variety of ways people live in the capital, from a super-luxe new build penthouse, to a hand-painted housing association flat, and a big-budget architect-led renovation to a DIY ex-local authority refit.
