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The 2023 Venice Biennale is coming to an end, with the final day, Sunday, November 26, fast approaching. This year’s event, subtitled “The Laboratory of the Future” and curated by Leslie Lokko, was the 18th edition of the International Architecture Exhibition. Over the last ten days of the event, Venice is hosting a series of unmissable events that offer a far-reaching and stimulating vision of contemporary architecture.
Here are ten exhibitions, events, and performances to mark in your diary.
1. TIME SPACE EXISTENCE
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Palazzo Mora, Strada Nova, 3659
The Make/Believe installation, the product of collaboration between Nexion and architect Ajay Sonar, founder of the A for Architecture studio, is part of Time Space Existence, an event organized parallel to the Biennale that’s now up to its sixth edition. Held at Palazzo Mora, the exhibition focuses on new forms of sustainability, from the urban environment to innovation and the legal system, exploring the tensions between cities and nature in response to climate change. Created using waste materials, and broken and used tiles, Make/Believe creates a meeting place where people can sit and talk.
2. CLIMATE WUNDERKAMMER
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: IUAV Palazzo Badoer – Calle de la Laca, San Polo 2468
A multi-sensory experience focused on climate change, the Climate Wunderkammer installation demonstrates practical solutions and narrates stories about our planet through drawings, videos, and voice recordings. Each story is accompanied by ideas for addressing the climate challenge in question, with the aim of inspiring future initiatives. The project is a global platform for knowledge sharing that focuses on learning from the places that are most vulnerable to climate impacts.
3. TRACÉ BLEU
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Campiello Santa Maria Nova 6024
Acting as an exploratory method and invitation to transformation, the Tracé Bleu exhibition is a response to environmental challenges. Through works by artists of the likes of Krijn de Koning, Jonathas de Andrade, Joanie Lemercier, and Serge Bloch, the event examines urban and architectural projects that make circular and regenerative use of resources, thereby encouraging active reflection on environmental issues.
4. FERTILE FUTURES
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Portuguese Pavilion, Palazzo Franchetti, San Marco 2847
Titled Fertile Futures and curated by Andreia Garcia in collaboration with Ana Neiva and Diogo Aguiar, the Portuguese Pavilion, in Palazzo Franchetti, focuses on water resources in seven areas of Portugal. The objective is to imagine a sustainable, equitable future by directly addressing shortages of fresh water in the country. Portugal’s Minister of Culture, Pedro Adão e Silva, has stressed the importance of this project in promoting the development of new strategies for the management and storage of water reserves.
>>> Also discover the pavilions of Chile, Moving Ecologies, and Italy, Spaziale. Everyone Belongs to Everyone Else
5. TRANSFORMATIVE HONG KONG
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Campo della Tana, Castello 2126
Hong Kong is set to undergo another phase of urban transformation driven by large-scale projects and new policies. In the face of complex environmental and social problems, architects are adopting new multidisciplinary approaches. At the same time, the widespread impact of the fourth industrial revolution is influencing creative institutions and communities that see the city as a place for experimenting with new ideas. This installation is divided into three sections – territorial, architectural, and spatial transformations – and presents twelve projects that address the emerging challenges of this period of profound change.
6. A FRAGILE CORRESPONDENCE
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Docks Cantieri Cucchini, San Pietro di Castello 40
Exploring various aspects of Scotland’s Highlands, Islands, and Lowlands, A Fragile Correspondence involves a diverse range of talents – writers, artists, and architects – in its examination of local issues with global impact. The discussion of cultural, ecological, and climate issues becomes fertile ground, as they address the tangible and pressing challenges of our time.
7. FOLLOWING THE FISH
When: through Sunday, November 26
Where: Docks Cantieri Cucchini, San Pietro di Castello 40A
The Leve studio and Top Manta, a cooperative of African street vendors in Barcelona, created Following the Fish, a street market and repair workshop that generates alternative narratives and architecture. With the depletion of their fish reserves by European nations forcing them to leave their own country, the members of Top Manta present new ways of living and improving cities through political and creative struggles. The event redefines the meaning of architectural places from the perspective of migrant communities.
8. ALL THAT IS SOLID
When: Saturday, November 25
Where: Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, Campo de la Tana 2161
One of the most interesting innovations at the 2023 Venice Biennale was the first edition of the Biennale College Architecture, a workshop that brought together 15 tutors and 49 participants in a transformative teaching experiment. The documentary All That Is Solid examines the workshop, held June 25 – July 22. Extracts from the film will be screened on November 25. Providing commentary will be Lesley Lokko and speakers Luca Molinari, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, Ekow Eshu, and Rahesh Ram.
9. LIONHEART LIVE
When: Sunday, November 26
Where: Corderie dell’Arsenale
Exhibition curator Lesley Lokko and President Roberto Cicutto will greet the public at this event held to mark the close of “The Laboratory of the Future.” Poet LionHeart – a special participant at the 2023 Architecture Biennale with the sound-visual-textual-oral tapestry Those with Walls for Windows – will present a poetry performance at Corderie dell’Arsenale.
10. IT’S A WRAP! / THE CONCLUSION
When: Sunday, November 26
Where: Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, Campo de la Tana 2161
Carnival, a series of meetings, panel discussions, conferences, films, and performances organized by Lesley Lokko to further explore some of the topics of “The Laboratory of the Future,” will end on Sunday, November 26, with It’s a Wrap! / The Conclusion at Teatro Piccolo Arsenale.
Please refer to the individual images in the gallery to look through the photo credits
