Molendinar Lecture 2023
Unbuilding Hadrian's Wall

This year’s speaker is conceptual artist/activist Mary Ellen Carroll (MEC, studios) who lives and works in New York City. Teaching, lecturing and public presentations in architecture, art, and policy are an important part of Carroll’s work, stating that, ‘architecture is inherently a political act’. Institutions have included architecture/art/public policy programmes at Rice University, Columbia University, Harvard University and the DIA Art Foundation amongst others. Ongoing work on immigration with unaccompanied youths and their families started with the initiative DYKWTCA continues through the acculturation programme for RSVP.

Indestructible language — the large scale neon work initially commissioned in 2006 by the Precipice Alliance addresses the existential crisis of the climate emergency and was installed to coincide with the 2021 UN Climate Summit—COP26 in Glasgow and will remain on The Schoolhouse, a Victorian building that fronts Scotland’s busiest motorway (M8) and visible by millions of people, physically and virtually.

A museum career survey exhibition of Carroll’s work is being organised for 2025 that will originate at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and will be curated by Rebecca Matalon with additional venues to be announced. 

Carroll will be introduced by Katrina Brown of The Common Guild after the civic welcome from Glasgow’s Lord Provost and a response from Catherine McMaster of the Glasgow Mediaeval Trust.