Focus On: Torrijos Ceiling

Crafted in a moment of profound transition in late medieval Spain, the Torrijos ceiling is a masterpiece of Mudéjar carpentry that emerged from the coexistence and collision of Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions. It signals the formation of a new cultural order, while also carrying the fractures of exile, erasure and survival. 

Today, the ceiling becomes a living site for reflection and celebration. Artists, makers and musicians from East London and across the Spanish-speaking world respond through carpentry, geometric design, performance, sound and moving image. Together, their interventions reframe the ceiling not only as an object of dazzling craftsmanship, but as a reminder of cultural resilience and entangled histories that continue to shape our present.

Through making, conversation and collective encounter, the Torrijos ceiling is transformed from a historic relic into a living space where the cultural crossings that shaped the past invite us to reflect on its fractures and to imagine futures grounded in coexistence, dialogue and mutual care.

With support from The Embassy of Spain in London

PROGRAMME 

1–5pm | Living Geometry: Carpentry Lab & Puzzle Lounge
Creative Studio GF02 
Drop in at any time and take part in a hands-on carpentry workshop led by master makers Ángel Martín López (Spain), Paul Rigo (Ireland) and Alyaa El Gamal (Egypt). Create a section of a traditional Mudejar ceiling using pre-cut wooden pieces or challenge yourself with custom jigsaw puzzles inspired by the Torrijos and Nasrid ceilings. 

2pm and 4pm | Pattern as Memory: Geometric Design with Sara Choudhrey
Creative Studio GF06 

 Sign up for these creative workshops exploring geometric design with contemporary artist Sara Choudhrey. Draw, fold, and build intricate patterns inspired by the central star design on the Torrijos ceiling. First come, first served.  

 

2pm, 3pm and 4pm | Stories from the Collection
30 min tours departing from the Welcome Area 

 Join expert Anna McSweeney, and curator Mariam Rosser-Owen for intimate back-of-house guided tour. Explore objects connected to Islamic-Spanish histories, including Nasrid combs, inlaid caskets, textiles, and ceiling panels.  

1–5pm | Threads of Knowledge: Gallery Talks Under the Ceiling
Hourly, under the Torrijos ceiling (Gallery 3) 
Short, pop-up talks explore the ceiling from diverse angles—from historical, architectural and conservation perspectives to questions of cultural identity and colonial legacies.  
Speakers include: 

 

13:30pm, 15:30pm | Preparing for Other Worlds by Inés Cardó 

Torrijos Ceiling – Gallery 3 

Disrupting the traditional narrative of the colonisation of the Americas, Preparing for Other Worlds is a performance where bodies become archives of resistance. Through storytelling, sculpture, and movement, the body bears witness to histories of extraction and carries the seed of other possible futures. 

@inescdo

2:30pm, 4:30pm  | Live Music by Katerina García   

Torrijos Ceiling – Gallery 3 

A singer of Spanish and Czech heritage, with an academic and artistic interest in Sephardic culture and song, García will present a selection of pieces from the Cancionero de Palacio (15th–16th c.), alongside traditional Sephardic (Ladino) songs preserved in the Moroccan diaspora. Interweaving history and voice, her performance connects audiences to the cultural exchanges of medieval Iberia through stories carried in music. 

 
All Day | Screening: Crossing Borders by Manu Valcarce   

Gallery 1  

Thousands of Central American migrants risk their lives on La Bestia, the freight train crossing Mexico. Confronting deadly risks, raids, and erasure by political narratives, their journeys echo the diaspora histories embedded in the Torrijos ceiling. Both reveal how colonisation and displacement fracture lives and communities, urging us to confront their legacies in today’s increasingly polarised world. 

 

2:30pm, 3:30pm and 4:30pm | Welcome Home Darling! Mi casa es su casa by Patricia Langa  

Film Screening and Movement Workshop  

Limited capacity. Sign-up from 13:00 

Gallery 2 – level 2 

A flamenco-inspired film and movement workshop led by Patricia Langa. Screening her film Queerolé! and exploring storytelling through motion, the session revives flamenco’s multicultural legacies. Echoing the Torrijos ceiling, it transforms erased histories into living spaces for reflection on memory, identity, and resilience, inviting participants to connect through dialogue, movement, and embodied heritage. 

 

All Day | We Drink from Happiness by Fran Gómez de Villaboa  

Gallery 2 – overlook area on Level 3 

Fran Gómez de Villaboa’s installation connects the legacy of the Torrijos ceiling with London’s queer and multicultural communities. Taking inspiration from its Arabic inscription, “we drink from happiness,” it becomes a space of celebration and coexistence under a shared roof. In collaboration with other artists including Alejandra Muñoz, José Alguacil, Joe Cohen, Samantha Hudson, Bully Ache, Lewis G. Burton, Jean Daniel Broussé, La Dani, and Harper Sion, the work explores how identity, love, and resistance shape the ways we come together—and invites us to imagine living with greater authenticity and joy.
@gomezdevillaboa

All Day | Screening: Voices from Torrijos
 Creative Studios GF03
Drop in and watch a series of short films capturing personal and expert reflections on the Torrijos ceiling and its wider cultural significance.