The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced the cultural partners, which will be presenting programming in the form of lectures, panels, workshops or performances within this year's edition. SOM, Studio Gang, the Museum Of Contemporary Art are some of the over 100 museums, architecture studios and community organizations involved in the event. The 2021 edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial will take place from September 17 until December 18 across various sites throughout the city. The Available City intends to highlight the potential of vacant urban areas as collective spaces through interventions developed in close collaboration with the local community.
Curated by David Brown, this year's edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial takes on bigger proportions, moving from its usual venue at the Chicago Cultural Center and expanding across ten urban sites and two exhibition spaces. The event will showcase 18 projects developed by 68 contributors, exploring various scenarios for activating urban areas within different neighbourhoods of Chicago. The Available City concept is the result of a decade long research initiative meant to reimagine vacant lots as community spaces with programs ranging from education, arts and cultures, to urban agriculture or affordable housing.
Shaping a comprehensive image of this overarching theme are the programs developed by the cultural partners. Skidmore Owings and Merrill, in partnership with Tsz Yan Ng and Wes McGee at the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, will create a timber pavilion using robotic fabrication techniques. The structure will serve as an outdoor classroom and performance space for the Epic Academy in South Shore, Chicago. Studio Gang will inaugurate the new Wicker Park gallery space - a former post office turned into a community hub and production headquarters for local apparel manufacturing workers co-op.
In addition, throughout the Biennial, a series of performances and workshops will activate the installation sites. In the spirit of the theme and community-led design, all the projects and programs were developed in collaboration with neighbourhood organizations, local schools and residents.
