MoMA Unveils Upcoming Exhibit on Architecture and Racism in America

Set to open Oct. 17, "Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America" will explore "the intersections of architecture, Blackness and anti–Black racism in the American context."

Image courtesy Olalekan Jeyifous. The Museum of Modern Art, New York Olalekan Jeyifous.…other seasonal occupancy neighborhoods. 2020

After tackling urban expansion (Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities), foreclosure (Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream), and New York’s rising waterfront (Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront) in its ongoing Contemporary Architecture series, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is now turning its focus to race and architecture. In the upcoming Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America exhibit—on view from Oct. 17 through Jan. 18, 2021—the museum will focus on “the intersections of architecture, Blackness and anti–Black racism in the American context,” according to a MoMA press release.

V. Mitch McEwen with Kristina Kay Robinson and Princeton Black Box (Julia Medina, Sally Jane Ruybalid, Samuel Wright II). :R Maroon System IIII. 2020. PETG, foam, PLA, dried plants, neoprene, Dimensions variable — Image courtesy V. Mitch McEwen with Kristina Kay Robinson and Princeton Black Box (Julia Medina, Sally Jane Ruybalid, Samuel Wright II). The Museum of Modern Art, New York V. Mitch McEwen with Kristina Kay Robinson and Princeton Black Box (Julia Medina, Sally Jane Ruybalid, Samuel Wright II). *:R Maroon System IIII*. 2020. PETG, foam, PLA, dried plants, neoprene, Dimensions variable

Organized by Sean Anderson, MoMA’s associate curator for architecture and design; Mabel O. Wilson, professor in African American and African diasporic studies and the associate director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University; and Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, MoMA’s associate curator for architecture and design, Reconstructions aims to examine how a history of violence and discrimination in America has informed the built environment.

Germane Barnes. Miami Porch Portrayals. 2020. Digital print collage, 17 x 17″ (43.2 x 43.2 cm) — Image courtesy of Germane Barnes. The Museum of Modern Art, New York Germane Barnes. *Miami Porch Portrayals*. 2020. Digital print collage, 17 x 17″ (43.2 x 43.2 cm)

In addition to a “field guide” publication of photographs and essays by the curators, members of the advisory committee, and invited scholars, the exhibit will feature 10 newly commissioned pieces by the artists and designers Emanuel Admassu, Germane Barnes, Sekou Cooke, J. Yolande Daniels, Felecia Davis, Mario Gooden, Walter Hood, Olalekan Jeyifous, V. Mitch McEwen, and Amanda Williams. Reconstructions will also include individual projects focused on the experiences and conditions of life in cities from Atlanta to Los Angeles, with each location selected by a team of architects, historians, scholars, and policy makers. Over the exhibit's three-month duration, students from local architecture schools in Los Angeles, New York, And Atlanta will join the curators and 10 artists for a series of public forums and studio workshops.