The Danish Architecture Center has announced that Josephine Michau is selected as the curator of the official Danish exhibition in the Danish Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Under the working title “(Extra)ordinary Landscapes”, the pavilion will explore the theme of climate adaptation and coastal landscapes of the future, exploring the role of architecture with respect to the global climate and biodiversity agenda. The 18th International Architecture Exhibition will be held from May 20th until November 26th, 2023.
The pavilion will focus on how wetlands, landscapes, and nature-oriented design can contribute to solving the global challenges resulting from rising sea levels. The curator explains that the climate and biodiversity crisis "is the great common challenge of our time – including for architecture. This crisis demands greater care for our landscapes and a different, more nuanced understanding of the context in which we operate". And as extreme weather conditions and destructive events have become more omnipresent, how the world is expected to adapt is still unclear.
The curator aims to make the coastal landscapes of the future comprehensible for visitors through spatial installation. Scientists, architects, and a range of other experts will be joining forces to share their take on climate adaptation of wetlands and coastal landscapes and presenting new solutions through exhibition formats.
The Danish exhibition will inspire hope by pointing to solutions and engaging visitors in a way that touches their hearts and minds; where the senses, intellect and community form a symbiotic bond. -- Josephine Michau
The Danish-French curator and director of the Copenhagen Architecture Festival was selected by the Ministry of Culture Denmark, representatives from the Danish Arts Foundation Committee for Architecture, the rectors of Denmark’s architecture schools, the Danish Architecture Center, and the philanthropic association Realdania. The jury commended Michau for how she “formulated an ambitious exhibition idea with international relevance and impact, and which will be executed at a high artistic level. The project is holistically solution-oriented, and the curator consciously examines the importance of thinking positively and across areas of expertise, e.g. by linking research and practice with a focus on smarter solutions.”
Josephine Michau is a co-founder and the director of the Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx). In 2019, Josephine Michau received the Henning Larsen Foundation Award for her steadfast and motivating commitment to understanding, communicating, and involving people in the landscape that architecture constitutes in daily lives.
