Following a FinancialTimes investigation about sexual misconduct allegations facing the architect David Adjaye, several museums and other groups have ended partnerships with the internationally renowned figure.
The Studio Museum in Harlem, which hired Adjaye’s company, Adjaye Associates, to design your new building (should be completed next year), parted ways with him. The Cordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, has halted plans for an exhibition of Adjaye’s sculptural work. A Chicago real estate developer will go ahead with a major redevelopment project without the architect, and an Oregon public library has removed Adjaye from its construction project.
Institutions began to distance themselves from the British-Ghanaian architect within days of the publication of the FinancialTimes report, which details accusations by three anonymous women of sexual misconduct, exploitation and abuse of power. The women, who are all black and single mothers, were previously employed by Adjaye Associates. Adjaye denied the charges, saying in a statement released by a communications and crisis management firm: “These allegations are false, distressing to me and my family and go against everything I stand for.”
On Tuesday July 4, the Multnomah County Library in Oregon announced that Adjaye was no longer associated with the construction of a new building, the oregonian reported, and that the lead architect, Holst Architecture, will continue to lead the project. On the same day, Adjaye resigned from his role as design advocate to the Mayor of London, and the British government confirmed that he had withdrawn from work on the planned national Holocaust memorial in London.
“While I continue to strongly reject the very serious allegations against me, it is important that they do not become a distraction to organizations where I hold a personal role,” Adjaye said. said THE FinancialTimes in a statement via a spokesperson. “In order to focus on restoring trust and responsibility, I have agreed to step back from these personal roles with immediate effect.”
Friday, July 7, the newspaper reported that Adjaye had given the names of the three former employees and unredacted legal letters to the Government of Ghana. The decision – which the architect says he accepted “was not wise” – was condemned by the whistleblower organization representing women as a form of retaliation.
Adjaye also left what was his first project in Chicago, a major redevelopment in the city’s Old Town neighborhood. A spokesperson for the developer, Fern Hill, said THE Chicago Sun-Times July 5: “We have spoken with Adjaye Associates and are aware of these very serious allegations. At this point, Sir David will step down from the project and we will continue to move forward in the best interests of our local stakeholders and partners in this transformative opportunity for the City of Chicago.
On July 6, the Studio Museum in Harlem announced that it would cut ties with Adjaye, The New York Times reported, with Raymond J. McGuire, chairman of its board, describing the alleged actions as “contrary to the founding principles and values of the Studio Museum”. The museum has since removed any mention of Adjaye from its webpage which details the construction project, which is expected to be completed in 2024.
The Princeton University Art Museum, which had hired Adjaye Associates to design its new building, also spoke out against the allegations. “We find the nature of the charges extremely disturbing,” said museum director James Steward. The New York Times. “It’s fair to say that most of our work with Adjaye is behind us. We have an obligation to everyone involved in this project to see it through to completion. The museum’s website continues to list Adjaye and his firm as designers of the project, together with executive architects Cooper Robertson.
Meanwhile, a planned exhibition of a large-scale clay sculpture by Adjaye, 2021 Asase at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum has been placed “on indefinite hold”, art news reported. A work from the same series, Asasius III (2023), should be unveiled next week at the Griot Museum of Black History in St Louis, Missouri, commissioned as part of the city’s triennial, counter public. Organizers are evaluating ways to “engage with our community”, according to a statement released in response to the allegations. “We have become aware of the allegations against David Adjaye through public reporting and take these allegations seriously.”
Adjaye is not the first high-profile architect to face allegations of sexual harassment. In 2018, The New York Times published testimonies of five women who accused architect Richard Meier of exposing himself to them and forcibly touching them, among other disturbing incidents. Meier retired from his firm in 2021.
