David Adjaye, one of the world’s most prominent architects and the star behind the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, is used to being celebrated at the glittery opening events for buildings he designed.
Such public admiration is unlikely this fall, when three of his major projects are scheduled to open: the Princeton University Art Museum; the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria; and the Studio Museum in Harlem. The institutions appear to be keeping their distance from Adjaye, more than two years after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
Adjaye has denied the accusations against him. They surfaced in 2023 when The Financial Times reported that three women, who were not named, had “accused him and his firm of different forms of exploitation — from alleged sexual assault and sexual harassment by him to a toxic work culture.”
Adjaye said in a statement at the time that his relationships with the women “blurred the boundaries between my professional and personal lives.” But he denied the allegations and they have not led to any criminal charges or lawsuits.
It is unclear whether Adjaye will appear at any of the museums’ opening celebrations.
The Princeton museum did not invite Adjaye to its Oct. 31 opening. The West African museum invited his architectural firm, Adjaye Associates, but was not sure if Adjaye himself would attend its Nov. 11 event. And the Studio Museum in Harlem, which reopens on Nov. 15, would not say whether it had extended an invitation.
Those institutions had once eagerly commissioned the British Ghanaian architect known for buildings that invite reflection as much as awe. When the Studio Museum announced a decade ago that Adjaye would design a new seven-floor building, its director, Thelma Golden, praised his sensitivity to artists and his ability to capture “the experience of the sanctuary.”
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post A Star Architect’s Buildings Soar. He’s Nowhere to Be Seen. appeared first on New York Times.
