Imagined as a transitory and fragmentary portal / pavilion within the conference site, the exhibition was a place for those to sit, rest, read stories and contemplate. It acted as a receptacle of multiple temporalities in material and space that hinted at the politics of (in)visibility of youth in the region of Africa-Asia, asking viewers to consider the dialectics of youth-actions and corresponding (un)folding urbanities through stories that may offer new insights into maneuvering their own respective contexts.

The practices invented to reconcile or circumvent these situations demonstrate modes of enterprise and meaning-making, and showcase a liminal situation of becoming, thus bringing the notion of a static space, i.e. the waiting room, in dialogue with that of being on the move. In the form and material held within the waiting room, visitors could engage and play, make friendships, maneuver around rules, share information - thus building agency and networks for the(ir) future. 

For more, check out the detailed exhibition breakdown and associated roundtable page on the Youth on the Move website.

Organisers:

‘Youth on the Move: Performing Urban Space in Global South’ investigates diverse and non linear space-time relationships that the youth inhabit and co-produce while navigating urban space across Asia-Africa.

YOTM Team 

• Anuj Daga (School of Environment and Architecture, University of Mumbai)
• Min Tang (Tongji University)
• Ying Cheng (Peking University)