Why We Build

Tito Mogaji leads an interactive talk called Why We Build at the V&A East Storehouse on Sunday 8 November, from 13:00 to 15:00. It's part of the V&A's Ideas Exchange programme, which runs as a series of interactive talks rather than one-way presentations.

The session starts with a few distinctions: the difference between a community and an audience, a movement and a trend, a private space and a third space, and how to build one without accidentally creating the other. It frames East London as being built on a social and physical infrastructure of collectives, informal networks, sub-cultures, grassroots organisations, educators and institutions, and looks at examples of collaboration in modern architecture and design that address social inequities. The whole thing is documented through film, photography and live artist interpretation.

Mogaji is the founder of Nourishment, a community and cultural agency that works to connect underrepresented communities with arts and culture through curated experiences, campaigns and partnerships. That background sits right at the heart of the talk's focus on how communities are actually held together.

It's a free event, but booking is essential, with limited spaces left for on-the-day drop-ins. It's for ages 18 and over. You'll find the V&A East Storehouse on Parkes Street, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London, E20 3AX.