Architects in Exile. Open call

Collective imagination has traditionally associated architecture with political and economic power. As a result, when quoting Edward Said: «Modern Western culture is, in large part, the work of exiles, émigrés, refugees», the last people we typically consider are exiled architects. But is the heritage left by exiled architects truly insignificant? Can their works express their spiritual quest, new life experiences, nostalgic feelings, and aesthetic shocks? When does Modernism cease to be a universal language and instead become an existential language of the exile – and can they both coexist? The international conference Architects in Exile aims to address these questions. The international conference Architects in Exile: Stories of New Spatial Experiences (Milan, May 29-30, 2023) aims to explore a research field that has gained attention in recent years within cultural studies but remains unexplored from an architectural perspective: the exiles and migrations that have characterized the 20th century. The valuable studies on this topic have mainly focused on the biographical aspects of the individuals involved in these processes and their production, interpreted in a rather narrative sense. Architecture offers new keys for understanding and interpreting the complex phenomenon of exile, considering its heterogeneous nature. Through the engagement of scholars whose research has focused on the examined themes from different disciplinary perspectives, the international conference Architects in Exile seeks to open new perspectives on the relationship between Exile and Architecture. The abstract is the text of the open call promoted by the authors, who were also the convenors of the international conference.