The 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia closed on November 26th. A total of 285,000 people visited the exhibition, making it the second most highly attended Architecture Biennale in its history. Named "The Laboratory of the Future," this edition led by curator Lesley Lokko, has been the first to focus on Africa and its diaspora, exploring the “fluid and enmeshed culture of people of African descent that now straddles the globe,” in the words of the curator, with themes of decolonization and decarbonization.
This edition has attracted a wide array of visitors, 38% of whom are represented by students and young people. Visitors organized in groups represented 23% of the overall public, with a large majority of groups coming from schools and universities. The numbers denote an event centered on the transmission of knowledge and circulation of ideas.
Curator Lesley Lokko explains that "the test of this exhibition – of any exhibition – isn’t only in the number of tickets sold, column inches, reviews, or social media commentary. It’s in the small, sometimes unnoticed threads that get picked up, amplified, stitched together, and presented months, years, even decades down the line. I like to think – and only time will tell if it’s a reasonable assumption – that this exhibition was rich in threads, if not always in tapestries, and that its legacy is the impulse to continue making, stitching, sewing, saying, formulating new ideas about our profession, its place and importance in the world of thoughts and things, enriching discourses where it can, replacing where it should, repairing where it’s required and upholding and defending what’s valuable. It’s a legacy I’m unbelievably proud of. I come away from this experience acknowledging that, on the one hand, I had probably one of the smallest teams of any curator thus far, and yet, on the other, the largest. Everyone whose hands, hearts, and minds touched any aspect of this exhibition is part of that team, and always will be."
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What Is an Architectural Curator?Read on to discover ArchDaily’s coverage of the event, from on-site interviews to debates over the main themes and takeaways from this year’s edition.
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Representing Africa at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale: Recurring Concepts and Approaches
On-Site in Venice: 12 Interviews with Curators Discussing the Impact of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale
The 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale as a Healing Experience: In Conversation with Curator Lesley Lokko
Emerging Themes at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale: Highlights from the National Pavilions
A Mindset of Revival: Exploring Reuse in Urban Biennales and Pavilions
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