Sumayya Vally, the founder and principal of Johannesburg- and London-based architecture and research studio Counterspace, shot to fame in 2021 when, at the age of 31, she became the youngest architect to design the Serpentine Pavilion. Her pink and brown structure, which abstracted London’s urban landscape and paid homage to diverse community spaces across the city, articulated a vision of architecture as a force for cultural exchange and social cohesion. As she has explained, ‘The role of an architect is to absorb, reflect, and translate who we are into the world.’

Sumayya Vally has engaged deeply with the art world in the two years since working with Serpentine. In 2021, she created memorable and much-lauded installations for Frieze Sculpture and Gagosian and, earlier this year, a series of performances for Dhaka Art Summit 2023, all inspired by places of gathering. More notably, Vally became artistic director of the first Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, presenting an ambitious survey of arts and culture in the Muslim world. In parallel, her architecture practice has progressed from pavilions to more permanent structures, including a commission to design the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Monrovia, Liberia, alongside fellow African architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara of Atelier Masōmī.

We caught up with Vally to talk about her architectural and artistic pursuits, what makes a great space for art, the future of architectural education, what lies ahead for her pioneering practice and her participation in ‘The Laboratory of the Future’, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice curated by Lesley Lokko.

Looking back on your Serpentine Pavilion, what would you say has been its legacy?

It is a gift to imagine something and to see it being realized, and even more of a gift to see it being lived, beyond its intended home and lifetime. For the first time in the history of the commission, four elements – named Fragments – of the Serpentine Pavilion were placed in partner organizations whose work had inspired its design. The Fragments support the everyday operations of these organizations while enabling and honoring gatherings of local communities. The pavilion is not mine anymore; it belongs to the world. That’s a really beautiful feeling. For me, it’s the best part of being an architect.

Following the Serpentine Pavilion, you created memorable installations that reflect your interest in London’s communities – for instance Prompts for a City: Whitechapel (2021) for Antwaun Sargent’s ‘Social Works II’ exhibition, and a pavilion for the Notting Hill Carnival in 2022. What similarities have you found between this city and Johannesburg?

Both Johannesburg and London are shaped by histories of movement, diverse communities, and the stories that live therein. They also demonstrate the power and necessity of community. By negotiating, listening, discovering that architecture is in everyone, and working in the service of projects of diversity, we can imagine the world differently.

What interested you in the opportunity to be artistic director of the first Islamic Arts Biennale, which took place this year?

We have an ingrained definition of Islamic art – images of craft and aesthetic styles come to mind when the term is mentioned. I was intent on putting forth a different definition, one that is resonant with the reality of being in the Muslim world. My own experiences of growing up in a Muslim community in Laudium, South Africa, have been key to shaping this Biennale – from our practices at home to our collective gathering in faith and our sharing of pain, loss, celebration, memory, and imagination. I hope it is a testament to how our unique perspectives have so much to contribute to our present and future worlds.

Tell us about your recent installation, They who brings rain, brings life (2022–23), at Dhaka Art Summit 2023. What themes does it explore and how should we understand it in the context of your architectural and artistic output?

Wielding the coming of rain is a tradition practiced by cultures across geographies. Throughout Southern Africa, rain-making rituals are directed towards royal ancestors, who are believed to have control over weather and other natural phenomena. One of these is the Moroka of the Pedi people in South Africa.

At Dhaka Art Summit, fired and unfired clay vessels were assembled to form a temporary gathering space, which hosted a series of performances, which often involved water and focused on the traditions of rainmaking and harvest. These performances caused the unfired pots to dissolve over the course of the summit, leaving traces of the gatherings. The piece explores embodied forms of heritage and ritual, which is a theme that runs through all my work.

As an architect, artist, and curator, you’re well positioned to understand the optimal conditions for creating, exhibiting, and experiencing art. What principles should architects keep in mind when engaging with art?

Biennales, pavilions, and platforms for experimental art and architecture are essential, because they provide space for imagining the future. Architects have a responsibility in working towards systemic change: to listen deeply to – as well as to seed and to support – different networks and bodies of knowledge. My approach to the Islamic Arts Biennale was to imagine it as a series of experiences and forms of worship, to deliver an appreciation of inherited knowledge through both the material and immaterial dimensions of the artworks and artefacts. Many of the outdoor artworks are conceived as landscapes and spaces for community. They are invitations for activations, encouraging emotion, touch, talk, interaction, and gathering.

What do you hope to achieve through your participation in ‘The Laboratory of the Future’, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, curated by Lesley Lokko?

More than my individual participation, it is incredibly special to be a part of this family Lesley has crafted. When I first met her, I was a completely misunderstood student; she took note of my work, engaged with it with curiosity, and articulated for me a future Africa that we can imagine and bring into being. This was something I understood intuitively but hadn’t heard articulated anywhere else. This Biennale is about the Africas we know are there – past, present, and future.

You are currently collaborating on the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Monrovia. What is the importance of this project to you?

The project recognizes the significance of seeding and growing spaces for different bodies of knowledge, and other imaginations, for our continent and beyond. It is a genuine opportunity to honor forms of storytelling from the region, in a way that can be truly transformative both for our own context and for the world.

It is an honor to be a part of the incredible tribe of women orbiting this project – ancestors, friends, collaborators, and luminaries – who believe in the power of this narrative in the world.

What can you tell us about your forthcoming architectural projects?

Several cultural initiatives, including: a commemorative bridge-cum-sculptural work in Belgium; a public plaza in honor of the pan-African conference that took place in Manchester in 1945; a rainforest gallery in Benin City; and various other projects in Saudi Arabia and across Africa.

Vally is part of ‘The Laboratory of the Future’, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, taking place from May 20 – November 26, 2023.

TF Chan is a London-based editor, writer and communications consultant, specializing in contemporary art, architecture, and design. He was the editor of Wallpaper* magazine from 2020–23.

Published on May 23, 2023.

Caption for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. Photography: courtesy of Dhaka Art Summit. A dark filter was applied over the first image for readability. 2. Serpentine Pavilion 2021. Photography by Iwan Baan. 3. The first Islamic Arts Biennale, which runs from 23 January to 23 May 2023 in the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photography by Marco Cappelletti.