On National Representation and Civic Engagement
From Bahrain: 2010-2015
by Noura Alsayeh (architect, and Head of Architectural Affairs at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities - BACA)
Lecture Abstract:
The talk will present an overview of projects, developed by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities over the past five years that have addressed topics of public space, civic participation in public planning, nation branding, national representation and national identity.It will discuss the way that local and regional politics have been woven into these projects, as well as the way in which they have attempted to reconcile the often opposing issues of national representation and civic engagement.
Noura Alsayeh is an architect currently working at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) as Head of Architectural Affairs, where she is responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of cultural institutions and museums as well as the creation of an active agenda of exhibitions and academic exchange initiatives. Previously, she worked as an architect in New York, Jerusalem and Amsterdam. She was the co-curator of Reclaim, Bahrain’s first participation at the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010, which was awarded the Golden Lion for best national participation and the curator of Background, Bahrain’s second participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012. She was the commissioner of Fundamentalists and Other Arab Modernisms, Bahrain’s third participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale as well as the Deputy Commissioner General for Archeaologies of Green, Bahrain’s National Pavilion at the Expo Milan 2015, which was awarded a silver medal for best architecture and landscape. Alongside her work for the BACA, she works as an independent architect.