Venice Biennale – 16th International Architecture Exhibition Venice (Giardini and Arsenale), 26 May – 25 November 2018

 

Open to the public starting on Saturday 26 May, until Sunday 25 November 2018, at the Giardini and the Arsenale, the 16th International Architecture Exhibition has the title Freespace, curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, and organized by the Biennale di Venezia helmed by Paolo Baratta.

This edition focuses on the question of space, its quality and its free use.

The exhibition includes 71 participants, joined by others in two special sections: the first, with 16 participants, is entitled “Close Encounter, meetings with remarkable projects” and presents works based on reflections on well-known projects from the past; the second, with 13 participants, entitled “The Practice of Teaching,” focuses on works developed in educational contexts.

“The desire to create Freespace can become the specific individual characteristic of each individual project. But space, free space, public space can also reveal the presence or absence of architecture, if we understand architecture to be ‘thinking applied to the space where we live, that we inhabit.’ And the International Architecture Exhibition will offer us examples, teachings, and topics of discussion. Therefore, we are thankful to Farrell and McNamara for having accepted our invitation and for the choice, which adds an important link to the chain of Exhibitions held over the years,” Paolo Baratta explains.

“We have approached this Exhibition as architects. We have considered the given buildings as specific sites, as our context. The Exhibition is designed to reveal the qualities of the Corderie and of the Central Pavilion. The heroic dimension of the Corderie with its repeated brick structure and its moody light contrasts with the luminous quality of the zenithal light in the Central Pavilion. We have heightened the awareness of these contrasting atmospheres within the two buildings and this has informed and enriched our curatorial strategy. By responding to these qualities we have enjoyed the effect it has had on our choices and placements of participants,” say the two curators, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.