Biennale Architettura 2023: the new Carnival events

FIVE NEW EVENTS FROM 26 SEPTEMBER TO 4 OCTOBER

Five new events with screenings, films, live performances and panel discussions will animate the beginning of the fall at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, The Laboratory of the Future. Organised as part of the Carnival programme, designed by curator Lesley Lokko, the events will be held in Venice on Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27, Saturday 30 of September, Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 of October.

Tuesday, September 26^th from 10:00 am to 6:45 pm
Wednesday, September 27^th from 2:00 pm to 6:45 pm
Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo de la Tana, 2161, Venice)
Carnival Film Screenings

Film and architecture are inextricably linked. Both mediums involve space, time, and people, and both use narrative to explore the human predicament. Architects, like directors, turn fiction into reality. In this ‘mini film festival’ spread over two days, renowned architects, educators, artists and filmmakers explore the fascinating overlaps, proximities and tensions between space, buildings, moving images and representation. Two panel discussions moderated by curator Lesley Lokko explore the complex and rich relationship between these two fascinating disciplines.

Tuesday, September 26^th: 10:00 am introduction by Lesley Lokko; 10:10 am – 12:00 am Rumba Rules, New Genealogies (by Sammy Baloji); 12:00 am – 1:00 pm House (by Amos Gitaï);  2:00 pm – 3:40 pm Wajib (by Annemarie Jacir); 3:45 pm – 4:10 pm Sizígia (by Luis Urbano); 4:20 pm – 4:55 pm ButoHouse (by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine); 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm A Lot with Little (by Noemi Blager & Tapio Snellman); 6:05 pm - 6:45 pm 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize Ceremony (produced by Karen Carter).

Wednesday, September 27^th: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm short film screenings Inhabiting Hybridity: Letters from the Middleground (by UNIT 24 - VitikaAgrawal);  My Land, Mine Land (by UNIT 24 - Paris Gazzola); Robots of Brixton (by Kibwe Tavares); Planet City (by Liam Young); The Great Endeavor (by Liam Young); Ferenj (by Ainslee Alem Robson).
From 3:00 pm to 6:45 pm two panel discussions will follow with: Noemi Blager, Luis Urbano, Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, Ewa Effiom, Penelope Haralambidou, Mike Tite, Ainslee Alem Robson, and Liam Young.

Geography and Gender

Performance by Mareli Stolp (live), Gugulethu Mthembu (film)

Saturday, September 30^th from 3:00 pm to 6:15 pm
Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo de la Tana, 2161, Venice)Panel discussion with Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, Clare Loveday, Mareli Stolp, Gugulethu Mthembu, Elena Ostanel, Loren Landau, Giovanna Marconi, Michela Semprebon

You Will Find Your People Here is a collaborative, interdisciplinary work by author Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, composer Clare Loveday and pianist Mareli Stolp. Written for a vocalising pianist, the work combines the piano, the spoken word, and other forms of vocal utterance to create a response to texts and testimonies from migrant women currently living in Johannesburg. Following, a short, filmed performance by the architect Gugulethu Mthembu will be screened.

Two panel discussions will conclude the event. The first session will be moderated by Elena Ostanel, with Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, Clare Loveday, Mareli Stolp, Gugulethu Mthembu. The second session, moderated by Loren Landau, with Giovanna Marconi and Michela Semprebon.

Tuesday, October 3^rd from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Corderie dell’Arsenale, Square 2*
* Please note that a ticket for the 18th International Architecture Exhibition is required to attend on October 3^rd

Wednesday, October 4^th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo de la Tana, 2161, Venice)

Woman, Life, Freedom!

Tuesday, October 3^rd, the Women, Life, Freedom! collective opens this two-day event with a talk on the anti-colonial and radical nature of the movement with a focus on “The body of the Woman in Struggle”. Through performance, short films and talks, the collective will explore colonialism, patriarchy, gender, and resistance, culminating in a panel discussion on the 2022 movement, Woman, Life, Freedom!

Wednesday, October 4^th, the theme will be “Decolonising Governance”. In Iran, governance has emerged as one of the leading means of colonial imposition. In 2022, a protest against wearing the compulsory hijab turned into a social revolution, placing women’s bodies at the core of the resistance movement. This discussion will focus on governance and the possibilities of non-patriarchal and anti-colonial governmental structures in Iran.

Wednesday, October 4^th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo de la Tana, 2161, Venice)
The Future to Come

With the collectives RIFF (Rekha Auguste-Nelson), Cartografia Negra
and J. Yolande Daniels, Natsai Audrey Chieza, Margarida Waco

It is often said that there are three mistakes that people commonly make when thinking about the future. The first is to assume nothing will change; the second that everything will change. The third, and most expensive, is not to think about the future at all. In this panel discussion featuring participants in the Curator’s Special Projects, two collectives (RIFF and Cartografia Negra) and three practitioners (J. Yolande Daniels, Natsai Audrey Chieza, and Margarida Waco) discuss their responses to the provocations laid out by The Laboratory of the Future. The panel discussion is chaired by curator Lesley Lokko.

Carnival is the cycle of meetings, lectures, round tables, films and performances designed by curator Lesley Lokko to animate the Biennale Architettura 2023 and explore the themes of The Laboratory of the Future, open until November 26^th.

Carnival is supported by Rolex, Exclusive Partner and Official Timepiece of the Exhibition.