Subversion, Resistance and Disobedience: Dollhouses as site and method

Daniel is an architect trained between Spain and the UK and is now based at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture. Daniel’s research interests lie at the intersection of architectural design, domesticity, and queer studies. He has a special interest in forms of making that relate to popular culture, including dollhouses, paper theatres, and pop-up books. Daniel will give a brief overview of his research as well as provide a tour around his ‘Disobedient Dollhouse’ – a form of critique against architecture’s disciplinary conventions, and the associated normative spaces and aesthetics of domesticity.

Dalia is an Associate Professor in Medical Anthropology at UCL and has over a decade of experience researching different aspects of health, wellbeing and culture. Her most recent research, Miniature Antidotes, explores why people make dollshouses and other miniatures in the UK, and the effect this practice has on makers’ lives and wider society. Dalia will give a brief overview of her research and explore the ways miniature craft is a site in which subversion and resistance manifests. Guests will be able to view the Miniature Antidotes Exhibition which showcases miniatures made by research participants, as well as artefacts from the UCL Ethnography Collection.

Followed by drinks and tours of Daniel’s ‘Disobedient Dollhouse’ and Dalia’s ‘Miniature Antidotes’ Exhibition.

Supported by QueerAnth and B.Queer.

Image: Sophie Percival