Urban Room Exhibition: The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember
An evocative archival exhibition by Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai, and shaped for the UCL Urban Room by guest librarian Dr Kara Blackmore. Open from 11 June to 16 August 2025.
Urban Room Exhibition: The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember
11 Jun 2025 - 16 Aug 2025
The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember is an archive of materials including vinyls, posters, paintings and more, drawn from private African collections. Each time this archive is exhibited, Kudzanai Chiurai invites a new librarian to interrogate the archive and curate an exhibition.
The Librarian for the UCL Urban Room is Dr Kara Blackmore. This edition will focus on liberation zones, connecting different forms of a radical education happening across Southern Africa, the Caribbean and in London from 1964–1985.
The exhibition opened on Wednesday 11 June and will run until Saturday 16 August.
I consider the archival material and recording as broadcasts of Afro-futures. A frequency that mobilised and energised the struggle for independence and liberation. It's an archive that brings the past into the present and will continue to echo as we consider our futures.
Plan your visit
The exhibition is open to visit Monday – Saturday, 10:00-18:00, no need to book.
Running from 11 June - 16 August 2025.
Tickets are required for specific events, please visit the Urban Room Instagram channel to find out more.
About the UCL Urban Room
Located in Stratford at the UCL East Campus, the Urban Room is an experimental exhibition space for students, researchers, artists and community members. Based on the idea of an ‘urban room’ as a forum for community-based debate and dialogue, the UCL Urban Room brings together academic research and lived experiences of city residents to inspire meaningful education for our students and visitors. Users of the Urban Room are invited to join a dynamic network focused on issues of global urbanism, heritage, arts and social history. The space is equipped with oral history recording and archiving capabilities through its initiative of a Memory Workshop. Together, the Urban Room and Memory Workshop are supported by The Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment and the School for Creative and Cultural Industries at the University College London.
For more information email urbanroom@ucl.ac.uk.
Kudzanai Chiurai
Artist
Kudzanai Chiurai is a Zimbabwean artist. He incorporates various media into his work, which largely focuses on cycles of political and economic inequality, and conflict resolution in post-colonial societies.
Kara Blackmore
Curator
UCL Urban Room
Dr Kara Blackmore is a curator and researcher who works at the intersections of arts, heritage, and social repair. Her practice is informed by long-term collaborations in areas affected by conflict and migration. Kara is the Curator of the UCL Urban Room where she supports experiential teaching, leads exhibition-based research, and fosters community dialogue.