Right to Climb — Walid Siti & Vicky Richardson Talk — 02.12.20

Join artist Iraqi/Kurdish artist Walid Siti and Vicky Richardson on December 2 for a discussion on Siti’s public installation for the London Festival of Architecture, Right to Climb.

Right to Climb by Siti responds to the LFA’s 2020 theme of ‘power’. The meaning of Siti’s twisting tower is open to interpretation. Is this a structure under construction or demolition? Its fragile structure emerges unpredictably from the façade of 31 Oval Road, a former railway workers canteen in Camden Town, reflecting a state of perpetual change in the city.

Right to Climb is inspired by Siti’s memories of the Malwiya, the Minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra north of Baghdad built in 851. It refers indirectly to iconic examples of ancient and contemporary architecture, drawing on the artist’s memories of natural and manmade structures in Iraq, as well as Modernist icons such as Tatlin’s Monument to the Third International, which was unveiled in the Soviet Union 100 years ago.

This is Siti’s first public installation in the UK. Having lived and worked in London since the 1980s, the artist has exhibited all over the world and his work is held by many collections worldwide, including the British Museum, V&A Museum and Metropolitan Museum.

Right to Climb marks the launch of Inter, a commissioning agency founded by Vicky Richardson, former Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council and former Associate Director at the LSA.

Event details

Wed, 2 December 2020
18:00 – 20:00 GMT
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