Venice Architecture Biennale 2020 will proceed as scheduled, announces exhibitors

  • Matt Hickman
    • an outdoor photo of arsenale in venice, where the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale will be held

    The Venetian Arsenal complex will be open for business as usual at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. (Andrea Avezzù/Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia)

    Despite mounting fears that it would be postponed or outright canceled as health officials work to contain the spread of coronavirus in northern Italy, it’s been announced that the 17th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale is very much still a go and will kick off on May 23 and run through November 29. The exhibition vernissage–or pre-opening—will be held on May 21 and 22 as originally scheduled.

    The announcement was made by Paolo Baratta, the outgoing president of La Biennale di Venezia, via an online presentation held in Venice. The formal presentation of the Biennale was originally scheduled to be made during a press conference held at the Italian Cultural Institute in London on March 3 but was abruptly canceled earlier this week.

    In addition to confirming that the 2020 Biennale will proceed as normal, Baratta, as anticipated, further elaborated on the exhibition’s theme, How will we live together? The theme was first unveiled by curator Hashim Sarkis, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in July 2019.

    “There has been a constant theme over the years, the social advantages which architecture can catalyze,” said Baratta. “As we have often said, Architecture makes us more aware individuals, it helps us become citizens, not just consumers, it stimulates us to consider the indirect effects of our actions, it helps us understand more fully the importance of public goods and of free goods. It helps us develop a more all-around vision of welfare.“

    Baratta went on to elaborate on the curatorial approach of Sarkis:

    “In its broad-ranging gaze, the exhibition curated by Hashim Sarkis captures the structural problems of contemporary society. He observes—and we with him—that, in every corner of the world, phenomena of intense change are underway, they all differ but what they share is a need for important ‘adjustments’ in living conditions. Thus, the gaze of the curator and the Exhibition ranges even further afield. Architecture becomes the reference point of a vast interdisciplinary commitment and of a vast cultural and political commitment.

    “We live in a time characterized by a potential feeling of no longer being assured of an increasingly widespread progress but, instead, of being victims of the changes it entails. This is a time in which many could take advantage of the ensuing fears, worries, and changes to promote ultra-defensive campaigns. We find it useful if a Biennale can remind everyone that the identity of a society or a community lies in the quality of the projects it formulates for its future, to correct distortions and valorize resources. And, as can be seen by the many phenomena that are impacting the world just now, these projects can only arise from extensive awareness and widespread collaboration.”

    In total, 114 participants from 46 countries will present at the 2020 Biennale—this is a notable increase from the 71 participants in the 2018 edition of the Biennale. La Biennale di Venezia noted that there will be increased participation from architects hailing from Latin American, Asian, and African countries. Thirty-six American and multinational teams with American members are among the exhibitors, and a complete list of participants can be found below.

    The Central Pavilion at the Giardini, Venice. (Francesco Galli_Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia)

    As for the Biennale’s crowd-drawing national pavilions, there will be 63 in total including first-time participants Grenada, Iraq, and Uzbekistan. The U.S. Pavillion is being co-curated by Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Weekends on Architecture, a supplementary series of lectures and panels, will run throughout the course of the festival. And as during past Venice Architecture Biennales, there will be a special emphasis on education-based initiatives and programming for all ages.

    “The Biennale Architettura 2020 is motivated by new kinds of problems that the world is putting in front of architecture, but it is also inspired by the emerging activism of young architects and the radical revisions being proposed by the profession of architecture to take on these challenges,” said Sarkis. “But more than ever, architects are called upon to propose alternatives. As citizens, we mobilize our synthetic skills to bring people together to resolve complex problems. As artists, we defy the inaction that comes from uncertainty to ask ‘What if?’ And as builders, we draw from our bottomless well of optimism. The confluence of roles in these nebulous times can only make our agency stronger and, we hope, our architecture more beautiful.”

    Information on the Biennale’s exhibitors, programming, locations, ticketing, and more can be found here.

    Below are all 114 architects and architecture firms that will be presenting, organized by the Biennale’s five different thematic stations and their locations.

    Among Diverse Beings—Arsenale

    As New Households—Arsenale

    As Emerging Communities—Arsenale 

    Across Borders; Giardini—Central Pavilion 

    As One Planet; Giardini—Central Pavilion 

    How Will We Play Together?—Fort Marghera

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