Bengaluru: BIC exhibition examines women’s architectural histories

At the Bangalore International Centre in Domlur, drawings, photographs and archival material trace architectural histories that have often been left out of the record.

The five-day travelling exhibition, *Expanding Agency and Archival Silences*, examines the contributions of women and racialised communities to architecture around the world. Curated by Ishita Shah and Meenakshi Jayan of the Women of Vasthukala Archives project, and architectural historian Sarah Melsens of the Omitted from History project, it includes accounts of Indian women practitioners and region-specific histories from south India.

The Bengaluru-linked material includes work on Neelam Manjunath of CGBMT, Bengaluru, including research on her engagement and knowledge exchange with the Toda community. Other exhibits cover Irish architect Sister Nesta Fitzgerald and Chinese architect Lin Huiyin, who studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1924.

The programme invited Bengaluru participants to contribute their own experiences through workshops and panel discussions. A labour workshop on September 5 brought together architects, architectural historians, researchers, social workers, NGOs and women construction workers.