Azra Dawood

About

I am a historian, architect, curator, and educator. My work focuses on built environments and art practices, studying these within a global context. I am particularly drawn to topics related to cultural pluralism (as evident in sports), religion and secularism, and empire, philanthropy, and the environment. I have practiced architecture in Karachi, Austin, and New York City. After receiving a doctorate in architectural history from MIT's History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture I taught history of architecture and architectural media at University of Houston, Bard College, and Pratt Institute. Currently, I am working on both academic and public-history projects.

My past research focused on the institutional projects financed by the Rockefeller philanthropic network in the early-twentieth century, reading these from the perspectives of immigration, the network's pursuit of social engineering, and early-twentieth century theological movements. A related article was published in the Journal of Architecture, “Building 'Brotherhood': John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the Foundations of New York City's International Student House.”

I have also curated multiple exhibitions. City of Faith: Religion, Activism, and Urban Space was on view from October 2022-2023 at Museum of the City of New York. Also at MCNY, I curated a web-based interactive timeline showing how the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020's Black Lives Matter protests transformed public space and life in NYC. Most recently, I have organized Water/Bodies: Sa'dia Rehman, an exhibition focusing on the human and environmental costs of dam construction globally. Water/Bodies is on view at the Loeb Art Center in Poughkeepsie till August 17, 2025. My curatorial work centers socially-engaged approaches to public history, and has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Hyperallergic, and other outlets.

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