JOSEPH ZEAL-HENRY; is a cultural worker bridging public service, cultural production, and spatial innovation for the public good. Currently serving as Director of Cultural Planning for the City of Boston and Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP. Here is his INFO, E-MAIL and Instagram.


PROJECT INDEX [WORK IN PROGRESS] PROJECT INDEX



PUBLIC SERVICE

Making Space for Culture
East Bank
Designing a Circular Economy Primer
A House for Artists



CREATIVE PRODUCTION


Proximity Continuum Film 
Proximity Open Rehearsal 
Dancing Before the Moon
(Venice Architecture Biennial 2023)
SHUBZ at the V&A
SHUBZ at SOAS, Festival of Ideas
Sound & Solidarity
WE ARE HERE at the RIO
NOW YOU KNOW
SOUND ADVICE Branding


SPATIAL INNOVATION


Proximity Continuum Boston
Dox Thrash Garden
SUPA SYSTEM
National Galley 200
Co-Living in Countryside
A House for Britain
Graveney School Sixth Form Block
Wembley Park Drive
Wayland Close
Good Grief Tomb
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BRIDGING PUBLIC SERVICE, CREATIVE PRODUCTION & SPATIAL INNOVATION BRIDGING PUBLIC SERVICE, CREATIVE PRODUCTION & SPATIAL INNOVATION BRIDGING PUBLIC SERVICE, CREATIVE PRODUCTION & SPATIAL INNOVATION  
















Large-scale objects reflecting different cultural and geographical customs populate the pavilion - from a giant, futuristic domino carved from ash timber to a ‘bone temple’ made of textiles. The exhibition demonstrates the need for architecture to look beyond buildings and economic structures and towards everyday social practices, customs and traditions in order to meaningfully reflect how people use and establish space.

In the UK, rituals practiced by diasporic communities are powerful vehicles for forging new spaces that promote cultures and traditions that are not considered in the planning of Britain’s built environment. Dancing Before the Moon celebrates those rituals and presents new ways of thinking about architecture beyond buildings and economic structures.
Each installation, by artists interested in materials and making, acknowledges everyday rituals from different global settings: architecture and textile traditions in Cherokee and Yoruba culture; Hindu and Buddhist belief in the afterlife; outdoor washing in Angola; healing spiritual practices in the American south; Jamaican dominoes in Nottingham; and the craft of Trinidadian steel pan drum-making and Cypriot outdoor cooking. The main hall of the pavilion has a large cinematic installation with a film made by the curators with numerous collaborators, that highlights the central role that rituals play in reflecting the traditions and community values of people living in the UK. The accompanying soundtrack includes original music and has been devised by Oscar #Worldpeace and Fredwave. 
Collectively, this exhibition champions an expanded notion of architecture. One that is intangible, that cross-pollinates with performance, craft and other creative disciplines, and that is ultimately shaped by people. This installation responds to the wider themes of the Biennale Architettura 2023 - The Laboratory of the Future – giving audiences a chance to imagine different futures where collaboration, experimentation and equity are prioritised in the planning of space in the UK.