"Empire on Display: Architecture, Museums, and the Art of Power" is a public walking tour exploring how the British Empire’s values and vision were physically manifested in the cultural landscape of South Kensington. Taking place along Exhibition Road—sometimes called Albertopolis. This tour offers a layered perspective on how art, science, and education were positioned as pillars of imperial prestige.
We examine how the Great Exhibition of 1851 laid the foundation for this entire district, and how the profit, symbolism, and ambition of that event shaped what followed. From there, we reflect on how museums and cultural institutions in the area became both vessels for imperial collections and stages for projecting British power—using beauty, knowledge, and innovation to justify the empire’s reach.
Throughout the tour, we’ll consider the tensions between imperial ambition and human cost, between civic pride and colonial extraction. We’ll discuss how ideas of civilisation, race, and hierarchy were embedded in displays and architecture, and how those legacies still echo today.
This experience is not just about looking back—it’s also about considering the role of these institutions in the present. How do museums respond to contemporary questions around empire, representation, and accountability? How does the built environment continue to shape our understanding of the past? What is remembered, and what is left out?
