 | OMA/Progress Events Programme
Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK
6 October 2011 – 19 February 2012 A vibrant events programme including talks, salons, debates, tours and workshops accompanies Barbican Art Gallery’s autumn exhibition OMA/Progress, from 6 October 2011 to 19 February 2012. The first major UK presentation of the work of OMA, co-founded by Rem Koolhaas in 1975, OMA/Progress delves into the inner workings of one of the most influential architecture practices working today. Led by associates and collaborators of OMA and invited experts, the thought-provoking events programme explores the question of progress within architecture and society.
The headline event, OMA: Show & Tell on Tuesday 25 October in Barbican Theatre brings together all seven partners from OMA for the first time in public conversation. Chaired by Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern, this is a rare opportunity to discover what makes OMA tick. Individual partners – David Gianotten, Rem Koolhaas, Victor van der Chijs, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon and Shohei Shigematsu - also lecture on their own global and architectural interests as part of the intimate OMA in Conversation series that runs through to February.
Another highlight, on Thursday 16 February, is an evening of fun to raise money for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres with colourful contributions by well-loved jellymongers Bompas & Parr. A 1:1 footprint of the OMA designed and most recent Maggie’s Centre in Glasgow can be seen on the Barbican Sculpture Court as part of OMA/Progress.
Rob Harris , Director of Arup, leads the discussion Designing for the Next Generation – What’s the Future for Arts Venues? on Thursday 17 November. A panel of experts from across the arts including Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican Centre and Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europa consider the challenges involved in designing arts venues when faced with increased competition, new technology, scarce funding and climate change. Acclaimed author of An Intimate History of Humanity, Theodore Zeldin hosts Conversations on Progress on Thursday 15 December, an illuminating evening encouraging inspiring conversations between people.
Hosted by a number of influential and creative individuals from London’s art and architecture scene Salons take place on various Thursday evenings throughout the exhibition run. Participants include OMA/Progress media partner Icon Magazine who recently celebrated their 100th issue (10 November); Assemble CIC, the group behind this summer’s critically acclaimed Folly for a Flyover in Hackney Wick (8 December); Musarc, a choir and performance group formed by London Metropolitan University which explores the relationship between architecture and sound (26 January) and many more. Admission to all Salons is free.
30 minute Inside Track Tours of the exhibition take place every Thursday with guides including Farshid Moussavi, principle of Farshid Moussavi Architecture (3 October), Tina di Carlo, former MOMA curator (1 December) and Zak Kyes, of the Architectural Association. Join weekly Saturday walks to the new Rothschild Bank Headquarters, OMA’s first major London building and just a ten-minute walk from Barbican Art Gallery. The walks include a tour of the exhibition and last approximately one hour. Architecture Workshops led by Building Exploratory on Saturday 29 October, 19 November, 3 December and 18 February explore the creative processes behind architecture and are open to all age groups.
Listings Information
OMA/Progress Event Tickets
All events are £6 online/£9 on the door and take place in Barbican Art Gallery Events Space, unless otherwise stated. Some event tickets also include same day admission to the exhibition. Information about all Barbican Art Gallery events can be found here
October 2011
Thursday 20 October , 6.30pm
The Engineering Behind OMA’s Architecture
Join Arup engineer, Chris Carroll, a close collaborator on OMA projects, who leads a tour of the exhibition and shares stories behind some of their most challenging projects. Followed by refreshments and discussion with lively-minded individuals on the creative drive behind engineering.
Saturday 22 October, 2pm, Meet at Barbican Art Gallery Ticket Desk, £13 online/ £15 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Eva Branscome leads a weekly walking tour to the new Headquarters of Rothschild Bank, OMA’s first major London building. Repeated every Saturday until the last walk on Saturday 18 February 2012.
Tuesday 25 October, 7pm, Barbican Theatre, £15 – 20
OMA Show & Tell: XL Architecture Night
All seven partners: Rem Koolhaas, Victor van der Chijs, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka and David Gianotten together for the first time in public conversation. Chaired by Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern, OMA Show & Tell is a rare opportunity to discover what makes OMA the force that it is.
Thursday 27 October , 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Jane Alison
Barbican Senior Curator, Jane Alison, takes a tour through the exhibits exploring what makes OMA so influential and provides an insight into the making of the exhibition.
Thursday 27 October, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: TeaSmith
Let the East London teahouse TeaSmith introduce you to the world of exceptional East Asian teas, including tea cocktails. Experience the visuals, aromas, tastes and stories of a collection of fine teas selected to complement the theme of the evening.
Thursday 27 October, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On Speed in Architecture
David Gianotten , partner in charge of OMA Asia, and David Tseng, Professor at Taiwan National Chiao Tung University discuss building in their part of the world.
Saturday 29 October , 2 – 4pm
Architecture Workshop
Take part in this practical workshop led by the Building Exploratory. Learn about the creative processes behind architecture and design and gain a better understanding of the buildings and spaces that surround us. All ages welcome.
Workshop repeats on 12 Nov, 3 Dec and 18 Feb.
November 2011
Thursday 3 November, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/£10 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Farshid Moussavi
Farshid Moussavi , principle of Farshid Moussavi Architecture and professor at Harvard University, takes a walk through the exhibition and reflects on the significance of OMA and issues that relate to working in the Far East.
Thursday 3 November, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: Public Occasion Agency
Join Public Occasion Agency as they examine architecture as a starting point for asking questions rather than proposing fixed solutions. Led by instigators Jan Nauta, Scrap Marshall and guests.
Thursday 10 November, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: Icon Celebrates 100
The exhibition’s media partners Icon celebrate 100 issues of the magazine and the special anniversary issue featuring OMA, plus a chance to meet the individuals behind this best-selling title.
Thursday 10 November, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £13 online/£15 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On Progress
Rem Koolhaas, co-founder of OMA, speaks about the office’s current preoccupations, ranging from preservation to the notion of progress.
Thursday 10 & Friday 11 November, 7.30pm & 9.15pm, Exhibition Halls
£6 online/ £9 on the door, On Site
MAP/making transform the Exhibition Halls with a site-specific installation of imagery, electric sounds and live music responding to OMA/Progress. MAP/making are a collective of alumni artists and musicians from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal College of Art.
Thursday 17 November, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/£10 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Alex Mowat
Join us for a tour through the exhibition led by Alex Mowat of Urban Salon Architects, designers of the exhibition OMA Living, 1999, at the ICA.
Thursday 17 November, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: Greenwich School of Architecture, Design and Construction
Now under the new Deanship of inspirational ex-Bartlett professor Neil Spiller, Greenwich Architecture host an evening of fun and looking to the future.
Thursday 17 November, 7.30pm , Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
Designing for the Next Generation – What’s the Future for Arts Venues?
In a time of increased competition, new technology, scarce funding and climate change, how can art venues be creatively designed for an uncertain future? Rob Harris, Director at design, engineering and technical consultancy Arup leads this insightful debate. With a panel of experts from across the arts including Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican Centre and Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europa amongst others.
Thursday 24 November, 6.30pm , Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Oliver Wainwright
Take a tour through the exhibition with Oliver Wainwright, Associate Editor of Building Design and former part 1 intern at OMA.
Thursday 24 November, 6.30pm - midnight, Foyers & Gallery Events Space,
Admission Free
LATES: Off Modern
Late into the evening, visual artists and musicians take over the Barbican’s architecture and transform its public spaces into a multi-media collage of an imagined future structure. Hosted by South London creative collective Off Modern, the event features video projections, art installations, live music, performances, DJs and more to be announced!
Thursday 24 November, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On Prudence
Managing Partner Victor van der Chijs discusses how to manage a beast like OMA: both a commercial entity and an unpredictable creative enterprise, with volatile inputs and risk-taking outputs.
December 2011
Thursday 1 December, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Tina di Carlo
Join former MOMA curator Tina di Carlo for a tour of OMA/Progress with a particular focus on the significance of OMA’s CCTV Beijing.
Thursday 1 December, 7.30pm
Architecture, Photography, Landscape, Image
Dutch photographer Bas Princen talks with independent curator Elias Redstone about how architecture is communicated. Princen is known for capturing contemporary transformations of the urban landscape, using photography to research, document and critique the built environment.
Thursday 8 December, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Carol Patterson
OMA’s Carol Patterson, project leader for Rothschild Bank, describes working for OMA today, and building in London, on this exhibition tour.
Thursday 8 December, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: All Bricked Up and Nowhere to Go
Assemble CIC , the emergent talent behind this summer’s hit Folly for a Flyover, a pop-up cinema built under the A12 flyover, spend a constructive evening building model structures and arguing about building.
Thursday 8 December, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On London
Director of AMO and partner in charge of several projects in London (as well as Russia and Europe), Reinier de Graaf talks with architectural writer and Deputy Chair of the Design Council, Paul Finch, about the extreme difficulties of building in the capital.
Thursday 15 December, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Simon Brown & Jon Link
Join Creative Directors Simon Brown, &&&, and Jon Link, Modern Toss, the producers behind Content, as they revisit OMA’s work ten years later.
Thursday 15 December, 7.30pm
Conversations on Progress
Have you ever thought that there could be more to your conversational life? Historian and philosopher Theodore Zeldin hosts an evening of conversations on progress. Participate in stimulating interactions with people you have never met, and be inspired and provoked. Zeldin is author of An Intimate History of Humanity and President of The Oxford Muse.
January 2012
Thursday 12 January , 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Kari Rittenbach
Writer and curator Kari Rittenbach has worked closely on OMA/Progress. Hear about her favourite OMA images and objects and the art of architectural production.
Thursday 12 January , 7.30pm
Making Progress in 2012
January is a time for reflection and resolution. How can we transform good intentions into lasting change, and realise goals that actually allow us to live more fulfilling lives? The
School of Life Faculty Member John-Paul Flintoff takes advice from great thinkers and doers throughout history to explore our own potential for progress.
Thursday 19 January, 6.30pm , Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Adrian Forty
Join Bartlett Professor Adrian Forty for a tour of the exhibition focusing on OMA’s relationship to modern architecture.
Thursday 19 January, 7.30pm
Efficiency and Elegance in Building Design
Explore the benefits and impact of sustainable building design with Alistair Guthrie, global sustainable buildings leader of the engineering company Arup, in which he shares the stories behind buildings of the past and the future.
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 January , 2 – 6pm, Admission Free
Salon: Centre for Research Architecture
Spend the weekend with the Centre for Research Architecture, part of Goldsmiths, University of London, and explore their ongoing work in the form of an open archive that expands notions of architecture by engaging with questions of political ecologies, conflict and human rights.
Thursday 26 January, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Natasha Sandmeier
The Architectural Association’s Natasha Sandmeier tours the exhibition and reflects on the time she spent in Rotterdam working on designs for OMA’s Seattle Central Library and others.
Thursday 26 January, 7 – 10pm, Admission Free
Salon: Being the Building/Architecture and Sensory Perception
Musarc , established by Joseph Kohlmaier at the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Design, London Metropolitan University, is a choir and performance group in its own right. Join in and explore the relationship between architecture and sound.
Thursday 26 January, 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On Bank
OMA partner Ellen van Loon discusses the design and construction of the new Rothschild Bank headquarters, OMA’s first completed building in London.
February 2012
Thursday 2 February , 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/ £10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Zak Kyes
Join Zak Kyes, an organizer of OMA Book Machine, 2010, at the Architectural Association, as he describes OMA’s approach to printed matter.
Thursday 2 February , 7.30pm
To Go Beyond the Fear of Pooling Knowledge
In this intimate event, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist shares the motivation behind the countless live events and interviews staged with OMA’s Rem Koolhaas, from the Laboratorium Lectures, 1999, to the 24-Hour Marathon, 2006, to their latest publication Project Japan, 2011.
Saturday 4 February , 2pm , Meet at Barbican Art Gallery Ticket Desk ,
£ 13 online/ £15 on the door (Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Walk to Rothschild HQ
This walk is the only one to include access inside the Rothschild Bank HQ building on the foyer level. Join Archivist Melanie Aspey for an introduction to the Bank’s archive and history. Begins at the exhibition with Eva Branscome.
Thursday 9 February, 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/£10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Eyal Weizman
Eyal Weizman, writer and director of Research Architecture at Goldsmiths tours the exhibition and considers some of the politics and policies behind building (and not building).
Thursday 9 February, 7.30pm
After Utopia
Architecture writer and provocateur Owen Hatherley and architectural historian David Heathcote discuss the OMA-inspired intervention into the fabric of Barbican Art Gallery, and the reality of occupying modernist utopian structures. What might the future hold for the heroic architecture of the 1960s and 1970s? Join the debate.
Thursday 16 February , 6.30pm, Barbican Art Gallery, £8 online/£10 on the door
(Includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Inside Track: Beatrice Galilee
Independent curator and writer Beatrice Galilee discusses OMA’s global reach and influence on new generations of architects in this tour of the exhibition.
Thursday 16 February , 7 – 10pm, details and ticket prices to be announced
Maggie’s Fundraiser with Bompas & Parr
Spend an evening with Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, to experience the vision of a patient who wanted to change the way we live with cancer and who encouraged leading architects to build supportive, uplifting spaces for care. Founded in 1995 by Maggie Keswick Jencks, there are now 15 centres across the UK. The most recent centre in Gartnavel, Glasgow is designed by OMA.
Thursday 16 February 7.30pm, Cinema 2 , £6 online/ £9 on the door
OMA in Conversation: On Generations
Shohei Shigematsu, partner in charge of OMA’s operations in the Americas, talks to his former OMA colleague Bjarke Ingels, now director of Copenhagen architecture office BIG, about their architectural contemporaries and generational inheritance.
Ends
Notes to Editors
Press Information
For further information, images, press tickets or to arrange interviews contact
Barbican Media Relations:
Jess Hookway, jess.hookway@barbican.org.uk / +44 207 382 6162
Public Information
Barbican Art Gallery is open daily 11am – 8pm, except Wed until 6pm; Late night every Thursday until 10pm. Closed 24, 25 & 26 December 2011.
Tickets online from £8, on the door £10. Tel: 0845 120 7550
For more details visit: www.barbican.org.uk
OMA
OMA is a leading international partnership practicing architecture, urbanism, and cultural analysis. Through AMO, its research and design studio, the practice works in areas beyond architecture that today have an increasing influence on architecture itself: media, politics, renewable energy, technology, publishing and fashion. OMA is led by seven partners – Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon, Reinier de Graaf, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, David Gianotten and Managing Partner, Victor van der Chijs. The work of OMA and Rem Koolhaas has received several awards, including the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 2000 and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale. This is the first major exhibition on OMA following Content at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin in 2003.
Barbican Art Gallery
One of the leading art spaces in the UK, Barbican Art Gallery presents the best of international visual art with a dynamic mix of art, architecture, design, fashion and photography. From acclaimed architects to Turner prize-winning artists, the Gallery exhibits innovators of the 20th and 21st centuries: key players who have shaped developments and stimulated change. Based within an iconic London landmark of considerable architectural interest and importance, Barbican Art Gallery has an international reputation for delivering agenda-setting architectural exhibitions designed to challenge assumptions and encourage debate. Previous architectural exhibitions include Future City: Experiment and Utopia in Architecture 1956 – 2006 (2006); Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of Shigeru Ban, (2007); Le Corbusier – The Art of Architecture (2009) and Junya Ishigami: Architecture as Air (2011).
www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
About the Barbican
The architecturally renowned Barbican Centre is one of the world's leading arts centres, founded and run by the City of London Corporation. It encompasses dance, film, music, theatre, visual arts and creative learning who work together in creating the model of tomorrow's international arts and learning centre. Committed to providing a world-class programme, which inspires, challenges and amazes its audiences, the Barbican is also home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Associate Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Associate Producer Serious and a range of Artistic Associates. For more information visit www.barbican.org.uk
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