The 18th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and novelist Lesley Lokko – who is also Founder and Director of the African Futures Institute (AFI) based in Accra, Ghana – officially opened to the public on May 20th and is now on view through Nov. 26. Entitled The Laboratory of the Future, this year's Venice Architecture Biennale for the first time highlights the African continent as a leading force in shaping the world to come and Lokko's curatorial mission prompts entries to question traditional notions of what the future can hold and what architecture looks like.
Featuring 63 National Pavilions, 89 participants, and 9 collateral events in the city, the exhibition invited practitioners from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds to explore these new possibilities. Running alongside the National Pavilions, the story of Africa and its history as well as future within the architectural discipline is told in large part by the participants and unfolds strategically across Venice's Giardini and Arsenale areas.
