Responding to curator Alejandro Aravena's theme "Reporting from the front," the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo has selected Washington Fajardo to present an exhibition titled “JUNTOS.” The project for the Brazilian pavilion will highlight stories of people who have fought to achieve changes in institutional passivity in Brazil's big cities. They have created architecture within slow processes, bringing stable solutions in a politically tumultuous territory. According to the curator, “the exhibition is a composition of these pathways and partnerships, where activism meets architects and architecture, becoming a magnet in the preparation of a new space.”
According to Luis Terepins, president of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Fajardo's project is particularly suited to the general theme of the international event. "By establishing a dialogue between Brazilian architecture and contemporary international discussion, the Biennale aligns with the core mission of spreading the culture of the country in the global context," said Terepins.
Afro-Brazilian culture, historical centers, access to culture through architecture and design--these are the stories of the Brazilian pavilion, in a search for what it means to be together (juntos), highlights Fajardo. The exhibition brings together process and their current states, which can be in designing stage, still-to-be-done, or finished. These are processes that speak of architecture, urban planning, cultural heritage, literature, social activism and technology; as a result, videos, photos, letters, articles, poems, texts, facts, drawings and data are also part of the show, "composing a memorial for these lives intertwined in improving the built environment, in their communities, in search of a way of being and knowing. " To create the exhibition "TOGETHER" (JUNTOS), the Brazilian curator selected the following projects:
Vila Flores, Goma Oficina, Porto Alegre - Associação Cultural Vila Flores
Selo de Qualidade MCMV (Seal of Approval MCMV), Nanda Eskes (Atelier 77), Parauapebas, Pará (Pilot Project) - Letícia Monte, Instituto Casa (Convergência de Arte Sociedade e Arquitetura)
Parque + Instituto Sitiê (Park + Institute Sitiê), Pedro Henrique de Cristo e Caroline Shannon de Cristo (+D Studio), Rio de Janeiro - Mauro Quintanilha, Paulo César de Almeida e Comunidade do Vidigal
Parque de Madureira (Madureira Park), Ruy Rezende, Rio de Janeiro - Mauro Bonelli e Tia Surica
Casa do Jongo (Jongo's House), Pedro Évora e Pedro Rivera (Rua Arquitetos), Rio de Janeiro - Dyonne Boy e Tia Maria (Ong Jongo da Serrinha)
Circuito da Herança Africana (Circuit of African Heritage), Sara Zewde, Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade, Rio de Janeiro - (Merced Guimarães, IPN, Damião Braga, Quilombo da Pedra do Sal, Pequena África, Tia Ciata, Giovanni Harvey, Grupo de Trabalho Curatorial do Projeto Urbanístico, Arquitetônico e Museológico do Circuito)
Circo Crescer e Viver (Growing and Living Circus), Rodrigo Azevedo (AAA_Azevedo Agência de Arquitetura) e Maxime Baron, Rio de Janeiro - Junior Perim e Vinicius Daumas
Escola Vidigal (Vidigal School), Brenda Bello e Basil Walter (BWArchitects), Rio de Janeiro - Vik Muniz
Escola Novo Mangue (New Mangue School), Bruno Lima, Francisco Rocha, Lula Marcondes, (O Norte -Oficina de Criação), Recife - Comunidade do Coque
Casa da Vila Matilde (Vila Matilde House), Danilo Terra, Pedro Tuma, Fernanda Sakano (Terra e Tuma Arquitetos Associados), São Paulo - Dona Dalva Borges Ramos
Placas de Rua da Maré (Street Signs in Maré), Laura Taves, Azulejaria, Rio de Janeiro - ONG Redes de Desenvolvimento da Maré (parceria)
Ciclo Rotas do Centro (Cycle Routes in the Center), Clarisse Linke (Instituto de Políticas de Transporte e Desenvolvimento - ITDP Brasil), Zé Lobo (Transporte Ativo), Pedro Rivera (Studio-X), Rio de Janeiro - Usuário de bicicleta
Programa Vivenda (Housing Program), Fernando Amiky Assad, Igiano Lima de Souza, Marcelo Zarzuela Coelho, São Paulo - Comunidade Jardim Ibirapuera
Complexo Jardim Edite (Garden Complex), Fernando de Mello Franco, Marta Moreira e Milton Braga (MMBB); Eduardo Ferroni e Pablo Hereñú (H+F), São Paulo - Miguel Luiz Bucalem (Secretário Municipal do Desenvolvimento Urbano), Elton Santa Fé Zacarias (Secretário de Habitação, 2009-2010), Ricardo Pereira Leite (Secretário de Habitação, 2010-2012), Elisabeth França (Superintendente e secretária adjunta), Luiz Fernando Fachini (Coordenador de projetos)
Piseagrama, Fernanda Regaldo, Renata Marquez, Roberto Andrés e Wellington Cançado (editores); Felipe Carnevalli e Vitor Lagoeiro (editores assistentes); Paula Lobato (estagiária), Belo Horizonte - Comunidade e Colaboradores
See our full covrage of the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale
With "Reporting from the front," Chilean architect and 2016 Biennale director Alejandro Aravena aims to bring together projects whose ultimate goal is to improve people's quality of life.
Commissioner: Luis Terepins, Presidente da Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Curator: Washington Fajardo
Exhibition title: JUNTOS
Venue: Brazilian Pavilion
Address: Giardini Castello, Padiglione Brasile, 30122 Venice, Italy
Date: 28 May - 27 November 2016
