Titled "Containporary", the Kosovo Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, evaluates the role of global urbanization and the process of planning and creating sustainable environments. Curated by Maksut Vezgishi, the pavilion will be on display at the Arsenale from May 22nd to November 21st, 2021.
Architect, visual artist, and author Maksut Vezgishi will be joining forces with Vildane Maliqi, Argjire Krasniqi, Feray Dervis, Recep Kerkezi, and Gezim Radoniqi, for the creation of the pavilion. The exhibition is organized by the Republic of Kosovo's Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, and will highlight sustainable urbanization in the country, and the world.
Lack of sustainable planning places the Earth at risk. The most acute issue is the global warming crisis. We lack awareness and coordinated actions to avoid the effects of climate disaster. Today, no human action can be seen as 'individual' anymore. Dreams and vision of eternity exist in transitional experiences. Earth, nature, are transformable. -- Curatorial Team
The pavilion explores how the human race can respect and maintain the ecosystem's balance by approaching urbanism and architecture in specific environmentally aware ways. At the time being, megastructures are not built consistently. Many stakeholders such as governments, the global trade and economy, multinational companies, and commercialism have their say when it comes to construction, minimalizing the clever use of existing resources.
In the pursuit of noble intentions, the curatorial team resorts to "memory" as an "ideal, fantastic world of opportunities that architects and planners revive and update". Since Kosovo is a country that has been constantly degraded by "dirty technology" in the past, the pavilion seeks to open a new chapter of sustainable development. For the exhibition, the curators looked at the container, a uniquely shaped large object that is located in every municipality. The landscapes around these containers are often overlooked, which gave the design team a white canvas of endless new possibilities and functions.
Environmental shaping revolutionizes social, political, and spatial concepts, and strengthens the connection between people and countries. -- Curatorial Team
Containporary
- Commissioner: Jehona Shyti, Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Republic of Kosovo
- Organizer: Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Republic of Kosovo
- Curator / Exhibitor: Maksut Vezgishi
- Co-Exhibitors: Vildane Maliqi, Argjire Krasniqi, Feray Dervis, Recep Kerkezi, and Gezim Radoniqi
- Music: Elvis Bytyqi and Gjulian Bytyqi
- Photographer: Edon Agushi
- Graphic Design: Nita Salihu Hoxha
Maksut Vezgishi: Kosovo native Maksut Vezgishi is an architecture graduate and contemporary art editor and author currently based in Brussels. His work experience involves architecture and artistic editing at several political and cultural publications. The architect defines his style as "experimental and modern", bringing attention to the search in "Albanian current art".
