The Federal Secretary of Culture and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) present the exhibit, titled Desplazamientos (Displacements), which will represent Mexico in the 17th International Exhibition of Architecture-The Biennale of Venice, taking place from May 22 to November 21, 2021 in the Venetian Arsenal. The exhibition aims to redefine the way that Mexico participates in this distinguished space, one of architecture's global stages and a platform for countries to share their cultural heritage. The Mexican pavilion, titled Displacements, is the result of a dialogue between the representatives of the 12 chosen projects and the the curatorial team as a part of the process to transform the pre-established theme of the Venice Biennale and to formulate a dialogue through spatial, artistic, and constructive demonstration.
The Technical Committee, the body in charge of selecting the proposals, included Lucina Jimenez, the general director of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature as well as architects Marcos Mazari Hiriart, Mauricio Rocha Iturbide, María de los Ángeles Vizcarra de los Reyes, Alejandra Caballero Cervantes, Pablo Landa Ruiloba, and Gabriela Gil Verenzuela. The group collaborated with the Curatorial Committee which included Natalia de la Rosa, Isadora Hastings, Elena Tudela Rivadeneyra, and Mauricio Rocha, to put together the exhibit for this year's Venice Biennale of Architecture. In this interview, Monica Arellano, the Editor of ArchDaily Mexico, sits down with Elena Tudela, one of the curators of the Mexican Pavilion for the 17th Venice Biennale of Architecture, to discuss the different challenges involved in selecting the participating projects and designing the concept for the "Desplazamientos" exhibit. Continue reading for the full interview.
Monica Arellano: What were some of the challenges that you faced in preparing for the exhibition?
Elena Tudela: There were several challenges for the curatorial team, which consisted of Mauricio Rocha, Isadora Feinstein, and myself. First of all, the curation was a year and a half of work. On the one hand, it's good to have that time to process, go further into, and develop your project. On the other, it's exhausting to work with so much uncertainty since, as you know, the Biennale was postponed several times. One of the other big challenges is the economic aspect of the exhibition. It's not uncommon for many countries to drop out of the biennale for economic reasons, as we've seen in prior exhibitions. Currently, the priority for countries across the globe is taking care of the health and safety of the public and the cultural, artistic, and architectural focuses have become secondary.
Monica Arellano: What was taken into consideration when selecting and curating the projects? Knowing that the focus of each country had changed, critically speaking, what were the most important elements for the projects being presented in the pavilion?
Elena Tudela: Each of the projects selected touches on a social issue. Furthermore, each one focuses on process rather than showing architecture as an abstract object. To achieve the museographic and curatorial elements, we found that it was best to do more with less. It's not about displaying a set of projects for social media, but rather organizing profound and truly interesting projects that form the foundation of the exhibit.
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Monica Arellano: What decisions were made that led the pavilion's creation? Can you tell us about the process and the choices that shaped the Mexican Pavilion's content and layout?
Elena Tudela: We didn't have a specific theme in mind, but after reviewing the entries and discussing them over the course of several meetings, we came up with a dialogue to tie them all together. This led us to the central theme of the Biennale 'How Will We Live Together?'
Monica Arellano: One of the most interesting things about these kinds of exhibitions is how they reflect the interests of the current generations and create common ground between places and people that are on opposite sides of the globe. In this sense, what would you say sets the Mexican Pavilion apart from the other countries in the exhibition?
Elena Tudela: As I mentioned before, I think a lot of it centers on "doing more with less." The "Displacements" theme is both straightforward and compelling, especially when illustrated with a sensorial exhibit. While the Biennale demonstrates global issues, it also highlights the lack of input from architects in finding and creating solutions. For us, it is important, not only to offer answers but to put coexistence at the forefront of architecture. To achieve this, we ask ourselves "how do we live together now?" In doing so, we acknowledge the lack of social and environmental justice and the inequality between us and other forms of life on the planet.
Monica Arellano: How did the pandemic affect the curatorial discussion? How did the discussion change throughout the meeting process?
Elena Tudela: At this time, the pavilion already had its title and we already had a general idea about what we wanted to do so that, when the pandemic hit, the design process simply reinforced itself. The "Displacements" theme began to echo in the conversations that we had, first because of the paralysis of movement and then because of the other types of displacement that took over the spaces that were previously occupied. In this sense, we began to see that we could have a real and interesting conversation without losing sight of the health emergency and all the uncertainty that it entailed. In many ways, it helped us test many of the themes that we had put on the table for discussion.
Elena Tudela: On top of the work put in by each one of participants, we also developed a glossary of terms in order to be able to speak about how architecture relates to displacement. One example is migration, a phenomenon that architecture cannot directly address. To work around this, we analyze each project and ask "what is displaced within this project?" Using the glossary, we give life to the concepts based on the book "How Will We Live Together?" by Roland Barthes and apply them to the pavilion. We can see these concepts projected on the walls and hanging threads; each one echoing the message that architecture is not impenetrable or fixed. It is ever changed by the context surrounding it, and it is this context that requires our attention.
