Titled "HYBRIDITY", the Armenian Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, allows visitors to step into the Armenian experience of coexisting in countries across the globe. Curated by Allen Sayegh (Vosguerichian), the exhibition will be on display at Palazzo Ca' Zenobio from August 28th until November 21st, 2021.
Since Armenia's heritage has allowed them to gather a vast diaspora around the world, the pavilion explores the subjects of coexistence and finding a sense of identity in today's digital contexts. The experimental installation gives visitors a chance to explore the characteristics of human interaction through physical and digital mediums, creating a "hybridity of identities".
As a representation of the Armenian experience of exile and survival, dissemination and coming together, HYBRIDITY tries to translate this human capacity to interact with each other and influence cultures both as individuals and as a community, in familiar as well as in unusual spaces. -- Armenian Pavilion Curators
A global virtual machine will be installed on the grounds of Ca' Zenobio degli Armeni, connecting more than 80 countries that house the Armenian diaspora and expanding the architectural structures of Venice through Augmented Reality. The connected individuals will be able to share their experiences through images and videos, inviting visitors into their daily life. The pavilion is curated by Allen Sayegh, in collaboration with Boston-based design firm INVIVIA and Armenian firm Storaket Architectural Studio.
The Armenian pavilion celebrates the resilience of a people, while remaining conscious of the universality of the issues at hand. At a time where humans face a number of planetary crises, HYBRIDITY highlights the human capacity to interact with each other in the realms of the local and the global, the national and the diaspora, the digital and the physical. -- Armenian Pavilion Curators
HYBRIDITY
- Curator: Allen Sayegh (Vosguerichian)
- Exhibitors: INVIVIA and Storaket
- Pavilion designers: Allen Sayegh, Stefano Andreani, Humbi Song, Isa He
- Commissioner: Tina Chakarian
Allen Sayegh
Allen Sayegh is an architect, designer, and Associate Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He is also the director of REAL, the Responsive Environment and Artifacts Lab at Harvard, and principal of award-winning global design firm INVIVIA. He has taught at different international institutions and has worked on many different projects across different continents and regions. REAL, the architect's Lab at Harvard, explores the future of built environment through a technologically-augmented perspective.