One of the interesting events that will be held at Jameel Arts Centre in January 2023 is the second Night School. Architect and writer Todd Reisz will be leading the free course with the theme “Make History”. Seven seminar sessions will be held from January 8 until January 29, on Sunday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. with some planned evening film screenings.
Todd Reisz is an architect and the author of several books. His latest book is “Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai” (Stanford University Press, 2020), which explores how history got written and constructed in Dubai and the greater region. At Jameel Arts Centre, he curated the exhibition “Off Centre/On Stage” (2021), wrote the publication (Khatt Books, 2021) and led the first Night School (2022)
“In Dubai, you witness history being made. It happens most emphatically across the landscape, in the construction of towers, ports, roadways and bridges. You could say that builders, architects, engineers, and planners are hired to write that history. And the work requires creative engagement with both the past and the future,” states the course advertisement.
Todd Reisz shares his thoughts about writing this book: “For many people Dubai is the city about the future, but for me being in this city is a full immersion in the present […] Dubai, as any other city, is also about the past. The past can tell us about who we are today and what possibilities are for tomorrow”. This book was something that he’s worked on for nearly 12 years. It is about Dubai’s transformation from a sleepy fishing village to a creative hub. “Through a series of steps that were confident, clear and unwavering and we’ve come to a world-class city […] Modernisation provides the tools for the steady progress, oil funds it, geopolitics determines it, vision wheels it and the leadership provides the assurance that this vision will be attained.”
The seminars are for Dubai residents and for local and international scholars.
To learn more about the Night School, please visit its official web page.
One can also watch the video with Todd Reisz’s presentation “How Dubai Made Architecture”.
