The fifth edition of the Mugak/ International Architecture Biennial of the Basque Country opens with one of the most influential voices in contemporary architecture: Professor Lesley Lokko OBE. The Ghanaian-Scottish architect, professor, and activist will deliver the inaugural lecture, setting the tone for this key event in the Atlantic Arc.

On the same morning, Professor Lokko will also hold a press conference at the Basque Institute of Architecture, sharing her vision of contemporary architecture and her commitment to social and cultural transformation through design.
Professor Lesley Lokko OBE is the founder of the Graduate School of Architecture in Johannesburg, South Africa (2015), and the African Futures Institute (AFI) in Accra, Ghana (2021), institutions through which she has promoted a profound transformation in architectural education across the African continent. Through the AFI, she has challenged the historical use of Africa as a territory for Western utopian projection, positioning the continent as a driver of global creativity and thought.

During her curatorship at the Venice Biennale 2023, Lokko subverted traditional colonial logics, and in 2024, she became the first African woman to receive the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), one of the most prestigious international architecture awards. Her teaching and lecture experience spans universities across Africa, Europe, and the Americas, establishing her as one of the most influential figures in contemporary debates on architecture and urbanism.
The Mugak/ Biennial thus opens with a guest who not only transforms architectural spaces but also the way we think about architecture as a catalyst for social and cultural change.