MAXXI Museum celebrates women in architecture in a new exhibition that documents the transformative role of female architects in the profession's evolution over the last century. Curated by Pippo Ciorra, Elena Motisi, Elena Tinacci, and with exhibition design by Matilde Cassani, Good News. Women in Architecture weaves together in four thematic sections the history of women in architecture, with the work of contemporary practitioners and the voices of young collectives, telling the stories of over eighty female architects.
The exhibition aims to document "the anthropological change of the architectural profession from the twentieth-century stereotype of the charismatic grandmaster to the growing presence of women, collectives and studio couples." From Signe Hornborg, the first woman who graduated in architecture in 1890, to Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first African American architect, to Zaha Hadid, the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize in 2004, the Stories section of the exhibition acknowledges the pivotal characters in the history of women in architecture.
Through drawings, models, and site-specific installations, the Practice section presents the work of 11 distinguished contemporary architects: Elizabeth Diller, Dorte Mandrup, Mariam Kamara, Anupama Kundoo, Yvonne Farrel and Shelley McNamara, Lina Ghotmeh, Jeanne Gang, Kazuyo Sejima, Benedetta Tagliabue, Lu Wenyu and the multidisciplinary collective Assemble. Together, they showcase the increasing presence and mark of women in architecture.
A series of interviews with scholars, curators and young designers make up the Narrations section, while the Visions part features five videos made by young authors within the Future Architecture Platform, exploring gender identity and space. Good News: Women in Architecture is on display at MAXXI Museum until 16 September 2022.
