Debbie Lo Creativity Foundation Presents

Credit: Portrait of I. M. Pei taken when he was selected to design the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1965 © John Loengard/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Opening on 29 June at M+, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture is the first major retrospective of Ieoh Ming Pei (1917-2019). Pei’s high-profile projects realised over seven decades with an exceptionally wide geographic reach – including the National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C., modernisation of the Grand Louvre in Paris, Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and Museum of Islamic Art in Doha – solidified his position in architectural history and popular culture. Exhibition co-curator Shirley Surya will share how the exhibition was planned to present the profound connections between architecture and its context, by revealing how Pei’s life and work weave together a tapestry of cultural traditions, power dynamics, and the character of cities around the world.