Projects

The Funnest Room in the House is a portal back to ancestral homelands of the African and Caribbean diaspora by multi-disciplinary artist Anna Maria Nabirye, celebrating the role of kitchens as rooms to eat, share memories, create culture, and foster belonging. It is an attempt to document and capture the memories and legacies of these spaces, as elders pass on to become ancestors, defying the effects produced by gentrification on inner-city areas, dispersing communities. 

Initially conceived at the end of an arts mentorship programme with Jerwood Arts and The Whitstable Biennale in 2022, the project takes inspiration from the kitchens of Nabirye’s childhood and those of the diaspora. The Funnest Room in the House was almost completed when it was tragically destroyed by fire a few weeks before its premier. 

For the past 3 years, Anna Maria Nabirye has been working with a community of friends, family, producers, creative collaborators, arts institutions, archive specialists and grassroots organisations to bring the project to life through different iterations, manifesting the multitude of places, uses and stories we call ‘home’.

Across 2026, in partnership with Towner Eastbourne, Whitechapel Gallery, The Albany (Deptford) and SAWN (Support and Action for Women’s Network, Oldham) Nabirye is developing The Funnest Room in the House through a series of pop-ups and public programme events, engaging with diasporic communities all over the country. Scroll down this page to the header 'What's next' to see a list of future events and locations.

Photography, audio, stories, memories and objects gathered throughout the 2026 pop-up programme will culminate in an all-day event at Whitechapel Gallery on 24 October. Contributors, pop-up audiences and guest artists will come together with the wider public to celebrate themes of home, food, care, memory and joy. The event will amplify collected stories beyond their original communities and lay the foundation for the next stage: The Funnest Room in the House 2027-28.

Developed from an original commission from Cement Fields for Whitstable Biennale 2022. The 2026 development phase is developed in partnership with Whitechapel Gallery, together with Towner Eastbourne, SAWN(Oldham) & The Albany (London).                                                                               

Supported by commissions from Cement Fields and Jerwood Arts and with funding from Arts Council England, East Sussex Arts Partnership. Produced by Nicky Childs.

Where It All Started
Whitstable Biennale June 2022

The origin story that kickstarted the The Funnest Room in the House. From dreams to a tragedy...

The Funnest Room in the House Returns
Whitechapel Listening Event May 2025

The re-launch of the project after a tragic fire, with a gathering at Whitechapel Gallery to listen to the kitchen stories that inspired the work and talk about personal archiving in Global Majority Communities.

Allotment Cookout
SAWN September 2025

A visit to SAWN Allotments in Oldham for a summer cookout with the community. The cookout features village style cooking of traditional pan African dishes on wood fires in urban Oldham.

Getting to Know All About You
Towner Eastbourne September 2025

Anna Maria created a mini residency at Towner Eastbourne to feel at home and start the journey and work of embedding The Funnest Room in the House in Eastbourne ahead of its June 2026 Pop-up.