Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to be There is the first major exhibition which draws from the archives to look at Bawa’s practice. Organised in four thematic sections, exploring relationships between ideas, drawings, buildings and places, the exhibition explores the different ways in which images were used in Bawa’s practice.

Over 120 documents from the Bawa archives, most of which have never been shown publicly previously, will be on view, including a section on unbuilt work and Bawa’s own photographs from his travels.



1 February–5 April 2022
Park Street Mews,
Colombo, Sri Lanka

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17 March–7 May 2023
National Museum of Modern Art
New Delhi, India

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29 August–30 November 2024
Yale Architecture Gallery
New Haven, USA

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