About

NOW Gallery presents three architectural collectives: Citizen Architects, Black Females in Architecture & Somali Architecture this Summer!

This June, as part of the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), NOW Gallery presents three architectural exhibitions by collectives including Citizen Architects, Black Females in Architecture (BFA) and Somali Architecture. Marking the inaugural participation in the LFA for both NOW Gallery and the featured collectives, the exhibitions take over the gallery spaces to explore architecture as a tool for social justice and equity, through a myriad of mediums including participatory installations, film, photography and live programming. 

London Festival of Architecture Takeover Exhibition Preview (5th June) - Book Now
An evening dedicated to celebrating the value and impact of community, tickets are limited so book your spot now!

Citizen Architects
TOP DOWN BOTTOM UP! Collective Action for the Just City is an interactive exhibition by London-based architectural practice Citizen Architects and Just City Working Group. Made possible by the British Council, the exhibition connects residents of the Bondeni estate in Nakuru – one of city’s oldest settlements, in west-central Kenya – with UK architects to co-design a more equitable city. Evoking Kenya’s 2010 constitution, which enshrines the right to public participation in planning processes, visitors are invited to create a 1:200 scale model of Bondeni using recycled materials in a collaborative act of civic imagination. Alongside the installation, the exhibition traces the colonial roots of inequality in Kenyan cities. Aerial photography by documentary photographer Johnny Miller reveals the stark spatial disparities that persist today, showing densely populated communities side by side with sparse, affluent neighbourhoods.

Black Females in Architecture (BFA)
Presented by Black Females in Architecture (BFA) - a social enterprise and global community of black women within the architecture, design and construction industries – the exhibition, Earth, Memory, and the Spaces We Inhabit: Matrilineal Legacies in Contemporary Architecture is part of an ongoing body of research exploring spatial storytelling through the lens of African and diasporic heritage. At its core is a curated collection of objects and spatial interventions contributed by the BFA community, spanning from ornaments, homeware, ceramics, jewellery, paintings, drawings, and textiles, furniture, tiles, lighting, fixtures, as well as prints, photographs, and test pieces from related design work. Together, these works reflect how women engage with space in their everyday lives, shaping their homes, communities and cities through the lenses of sustenance, leisure, and ecology. A dynamic programme of talks, food, music and games accompanies the exhibition throughout its run.

Somali Architecture
Architecture and Migration by Somali Architecture - a platform dedicated to raising awareness of Somali heritage sites - explores both historical and contemporary locations in need of preservation, alongside the story of Somali migration since the 1990s: a journey marked by displacement, resilience, and adaptation. The presentation features 3D models of sites in the capital city, Mogadishu, showcasing examples of both indigenous and colonial architecture; film presentations of pre-war Mogadishu; maps tracing the global spread of the Somali diaspora; and statistics that highlight the scale and diversity of Somali communities worldwide. In collaboration with London-based writing group Somali Sideways, Architecture and Migration examines how diasporic communities rebuild in new places while preserving their ties to their homeland. It invites audiences to reflect on the deep interconnection between identity, spatial context and built form.