The acclaimed choral installation features 50 chalk and charcoal portraits of Londoners who experienced forced displacement, now extended due to overwhelming public response.
A Shared Act of Presence and Memory
Es Devlin, the visionary artist and designer, invites audiences into a world where portraiture becomes a shared act of presence and memory. CONGREGATION is a large-scale choral installation created with UK for UNHCR. It features 50 chalk and charcoal portraits of Londoners who have experienced forced displacement. Each sitter collaborates with Devlin, shaping their own image and story, and earning co-author credit.
The Intimate Creative Process
Devlin’s process is deliberate and intimate. She begins each drawing without knowing the sitter’s story, allowing her own assumptions to surface. After 45 minutes, the sitter shares their journey, weaving lived experience into the portrait. The sitters represent over 25 countries, including Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Together, they form a constellation of resilience, identity, and hope.
From London to New York
CONGREGATION first premiered in London in October 2024 before coming to New York. This situates the work within an ongoing international dialogue about displacement, memory, and belonging.
Immersive Environment and Choral Collaboration
The installation is a tiered, projection-mapped sculptural environment. It surrounds visitors with image, sound, and movement. A layered soundscape composed by Polyphonia combines poetry by JJ Bola, extracts from Max Richter’s Recomposed: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and a reimagined Locus Iste by Anton Bruckner.
The choral elements feature The London Bulgarian Choir, The South African Cultural Gospel Choir UK, Genesis Sixteen, and The Choir of King’s College London. Film sequences by Ruth Hogben and choreographer Botis Seva, featuring dancer Joshua Shanny Wynter, add a physical dimension, merging stillness and motion, sight and sound.
Extended U.S. Run
Following its U.S. premiere at Perelman Performing Arts Center from October 29 through November 1, the installation returned due to overwhelming public response. It is now on view from December 9, 2025, through January 4, 2026. Presented on a Pay What You Pay basis with timed entry, the installation offers a luminous, contemplative space for reflection on dignity, contribution, and shared humanity.
Conversation and Digital Guide
As part of PAC NYC’s Icons of Culture series, Devlin appeared in conversation with photographer and artist Dario Calmese, offering insight into her creative process and collaboration with the portrait sitters. A guide is available via Bloomberg Connects, providing video interviews with Devlin and audio perspectives from the co-authors of CONGREGATION.
Tickets & Location
Reserve entry for Es Devlin: CONGREGATION here.
Tickets for the ICONS OF CULTURE conversations are available here.
Location: Perelman Performing Arts Center, 251 Fulton Street, Lower Manhattan.
Accessible via the Fulton Street subway station or the World Trade Center Transportation Hub (the Oculus), with signs leading through underground tunnels to the center.