Architect Jayden Ali has been cutting a swathe through the art world, both as the director of his studio JA Projects and as an important voice regarding collaborative and community-based creativity. His star has been on the ascent since he was announced as co-curator of the British Pavilion at the 2023 Architectural Biennale in Venice (alongside Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay, and Sumitra Upham). The show celebrated rituals practiced by diasporic communities, from the textile traditions in Cherokee and Yoruba culture to Trinidadian steel pan drum-making.

In this year alone the studio has undertaken ambitious exhibition design that blends the realms of architecture and fine art practice. Projects include “Entangled Pasts” at the Royal Academy, “The Time is Always Now” at London’s National Portrait Gallery, and “Nike: Form Follows Motion” at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

Here, the architect looks back at 2024 and considers what 2025 might bring.

What moment or project stands out as a personal highlight of 2024?

As part of the Royal Academy’s “Entangled Pasts” exhibition, we [the studio] gave a presentation that was like a variety show. It was a moment for us to present good contemporary work as a counterpoint to a show that is still held hostage by history.

It was part performance, part architecture, part film, and part art. It foregrounded other people, including artists and people from the local community, which started with a poem by Yomi Sode, who has an amazing book called Manorism.

We also had incredible performances by Thandi Loewenson and Rosa-Johan Uddoh. Thandie had just given birth, so she was presenting her poetry with her newborn baby in her arms. I also had a conversation with the artist Alvaro Barrington on stage, which made so much sense because he’s obviously into the idea of carnival. It all felt like D.I.Y. television!

Installation view of “Entangled Pasts” at the Royal Academy, London. Courtesy JA Projects

What was the best show you saw in London in 2024? 

Claudette Johnson’s exhibition “Presence” at The Courtauld. It was curated by Dorothy Price, who also curated “Entangled Pasts”. These oversized portraits of Black women greet you as you enter, and they just hit you. I don’t think I’ve ever been so affected by a painting show. It was very simple, but it had real power and gravitas. Johnson’s scale, observation, and formalism are something very special.

Tell us about the best show you saw abroad in 2024.

“Coming Soon: While waiting for tomorrow” at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris. It was a show all about predictions of the future. The opening work was made by Neïl Beloufa in 2014, which foretells the development of a pandemic that causes the world to shut down—the main symptom is a cough. It was a deep premonition of how the world works, even to the extent of lockdowns, so many years before Covid-19.  The piece served as an entry point to all these different worlds, which served as vignettes concerning our ability to self-prophesize.

What are you looking forward to most in 2025? 

I’m looking forward to working abroad more. I’ve had some great experiences this year, being immersed in the agenda of centering non-peripheral stories on a domestic scale. Now, I hope to do that with a more global perspective. I’ve been to Uzbekistan this year, and I’m excited to go back and do some more work in Central Asia. I’d also like the studio to be able to embark on more self-initiated projects, not just commissions. I want to make space for that.

If you could see one change in the art world next year, what would it be?

I’d love there to be a way of conducting truly open conversations in public spaces, which are also safe. I felt that at our RA event. We need to be able to carve out new modes of gathering on our own terms, to allow for sensitivity and openness in a way that extends beyond career ambitions.

Installation view of “Entangled Pasts” at the Royal Academy, London. Courtesy JA Projects

What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself at this time last year?

I should be wise and say “Be kind to yourself” but what I’d really say is, “Don’t take your foot off the gas. Stay focused, be more productive, because momentum is a really hard thing to uphold.”

Who is the art professional you have your eye on for 2025, and why?

I have to say Larry Achiampong, like a true fanboy. He’s like my brother, who I know from way back when in Bethnal Green [in East London] and I’m inspired by his energy. He has been making deep, profound work for years, but I think his latest show A Letter, A Pledge (at Stanley Picker Gallery) is the most resonant, most touching and most rounded work he has ever made.