Voices of the previously ignored: decolonization at the Biennale di Venezia 2023

The most exciting event of the architectural world – Biennale di Venezia - starts on May 20 in Venice, Italy. The space where the works of world artists merge with the visions of world intellectuals is a unique platform capable of shaping the philosophy of architecture. This year, the intention is to provoke a discussion on the "world that is yet to come".

"Laboratory of the Future" with an emphasis on two areas: decarbonization and decolonization - this is how Lesley Lokko, curator of the main project of the 18th Architecture Biennale, defined the main theme.

"The Laboratory of the Future" consists of six parts. 89 independent exhibitors from 64 countries will present proposals and provocations that reflect the state of the art.

"Architects have a unique opportunity to put forward ambitious and creative ideas that help us imagine a more just and optimistic future together," says the curator.

"A laboratory of the future must necessarily begin from a specific starting point, from one or more hypotheses seeking confirmation," said Roberto Cicutto, President of the Venice Biennale. -"Lokko starts with her continent of origin, Africa, to talk about its historical, economic, climate and political criticalities and to let us all know «that much of what is happening to the rest of the world has already happened to us."

The Ghanaian-Scottish academic and bestselling author is the festival's first curator of African origin.

And, for the first time, the spotlight will be on Africa and its diaspora

"The sense of an incomplete story, which hasn’t made room for other voices, is strong in my mind," says Lokko in her curatorial statement, following her calling and focusing on the voices of a previously "silenced" continent. Africa takes center stage at this year's festival.

More than half of the participants in the main project of the Biennale represent the African community, to which the curator herself belongs.

"The space has opened up to tell a different, more complex story about architecture and its relationship to society,” Lokko says.

Her desire is not to replace the existing architectural canon, but to expand it.

"It is often said that culture is the sum total of the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves. Whilst it is true, what is missing in the statement is any acknowledgement of who the ‘we’ in question is. In architecture particularly, the dominant voice has historically been a singular, exclusive voice, whose reach and power ignores huge swathes of humanity — financially, creatively, conceptually — as though we have been listening and speaking in one tongue only. The ‘story’ of architecture is therefore incomplete. Not wrong, but incomplete. It is in this context particularly that exhibitions matter," explains Lokko of her decision to highlight the topic of decolonization and put Africa and its diaspora, which spans the globe, in the spotlight.

"What do we wish to say? How will what we say change anything? And, perhaps most importantly of all, how will what we say interact with and infuse what ‘others’ say, so that the exhibition is not a single story, but multiple stories that reflect the vexing, gorgeous kaleidoscope of ideas, contexts, aspirations, and meanings that is every voice responding to the issues of its time?"

This year's Biennale di Venezia will feature a Ukrainian voice for the first time in 9 years. The name of the pavilion chosen by the curators - Before the Future - is in tune with the main theme of the festival. The works of Ukrainian artists will be presented in two locations: the Arsenal, the main Biennale location, and Piazza Giardini. However, the key element of Ukraine's representation will be an event and discussion public program, which will make both locations spaces for common statements.

In the Arsenal, the spatial solution symbolizes shelter as an element of stability, and unfortunately, many Ukrainians have lost it today. It will be a room that resembles a conditional bomb shelter, with a very low ceiling and a floor covered with fabric.

"The solution for the space at Giardini has to do with a topic of utmost importance to us Ukrainians: our land. The ramparts will be built here using wood and earth. The curators were inspired by the fact that it was the Zmiievi Valy (Serpent's Wall) near Bila Tserkva that stopped the Russian invaders. In addition, the land is a much broader symbol for us. Our land is what we are fighting for today," - said Mariana Oleskiv, this year's commissioner of the Ukrainian pavilion, head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, in an interview with Interfax.

"The earthen ramparts will remind us of our trenches, but also of those historical ramparts surrounding Giardini, which were once fortifications," says Oleksiy Petrov, one of the curators. -"Both locations will work with of perception of space, which has changed a lot since the beginning of the war. We started to feel threatened by the open sky, and security became the highest value."

"We have now formulated 5 topics that the program participants will work on, divided into groups: reconstruction, commemoration, ecology, education, and the future. The curators deliberately did not separate the topic of war, because it cannot be separated, it is present in all these topics, and it cannot be otherwise now.

"It is important for us to talk about the vision of the future reconstruction of Ukraine on this platform."

In the global context, the vision of the future is a problem (from the utopian, future-oriented projects of the twentieth century, based on great sacrifices, to the realization of the future as a climate threat or even a catastrophe), but in Ukraine, over the past year, a completely different view of the future has crystallized, writes Kateryna Bilash, editor of the Culture section.

"The future for Ukraine now is first and foremost a victory," says Borys Filonenko, "but it is tied to what precedes it, to our losses in the present, and this is a paradox."

To recap:

The Architecture Biennale is one of the most prominent exhibitions of contemporary art. It takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy.

The festival was launched in 1975 and by 1980, it finally gained the form of a separate event with a wide range of participants.

The website states that the project participants include architects, artists, writers, cultural figures, and others.

The winged Golden Lion is the traditional Biennale award.

In 2023, the exhibition will take place between November 20 and 26 and will potentially reach more than 130 thousand viewers.

27 national participants will be presented in the historic pavilion at Giardini, 22 at the Arsenale, and 14 in the center of Venice.

Niger will participate for the first time, while Panama will participate for the first time with its own pavilion. The Holy See will return to the Architecture Biennale, participating with its own Pavilion on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore (it first participated in the Architecture Biennale in 2018).