Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs

2023 marked the inception of a tradition at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW): the construction of a yearly pavilion. The architectural series, Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs, continues in 2024 with an artistic intervention in space during the Ballet of the Masses programme. This year’s iteration is conceived by the British-Nigerian designer, Yinka Ilori, who has crafted a spatial proposition that addresses intricate questions of coexistence through its materiality and form. Ilori’s work is underpinned by the assertion that ‘the audience must be held accountable for their actions’. What does accountability really mean, to all of us? And what forms can a response to being held accountable take?

This pavilion is not just an artistic representation but also a critical examination of issues related to racism in sports. Through its architectural design, it places a deliberate emphasis on the experiences of players who, through football and sports in general, are in a constant state of oscillation between a sense of belonging and the fear of radical exclusion.

The pavilion raises questions on how to deal with racist and discriminatory chants that too often can be heard from the stands at football games. Design elements like mirrors are used in the interior of the pavilion as an impetus for self-reflection and serve as a tool to remind the visitor of their own accountability in perpetuating a culture of exclusion. The round shape of the stadium-like structure means that visitors are surrounded by mirrors, no matter where they stand on the inside. Even when standing alone in the pavilion, the mirrors give the sense of being watched by a mass—a multiplication of oneself. By entering this space, the visitor agrees to experience an unusual form of self-consciousness.

Inspired by the Indigenous knowledge systems of Western African communities, Ilori's architectural design for this year's pavilion integrates the calabash as a visually mediating symbol, and aesthetic metaphor representing the spirit of participation and conviviality. The calabash is used ubiquitously in West Africa as a key component for musical instruments such as the kora or the ngoni, and alternatively as a utensil for religious purposes, as well as for food and drink. Its material presence as a symbol of inclusivity is central to the thematic design of the pavilion. It provides an ambient participatory space, mirroring the vibrant atmosphere of football matches, where festivity and sound abound. The calming and resonant power of the built-in calabash instruments also symbolically mimics, amplifies, and reinterprets the chants of the masses in stadiums.

Visitors cease to be mere spectators; instead, they are actively encouraged to become participants in this multisensory experience that resonates within those present,  the house, the surroundings, and the wider Ballet of the Masses programme. The calabash instruments that form an integral component of the pavilion, a collection of Kumbengo kora, invites visitors to engage with the artistic narrative by playing music, adding their own contribution to the collective symphony.