At a press conference earlier today, the director of the 2016 Venice Biennale Alejandro Aravena revealed more details about his plans for this year’s event. Alongside announcing the proposal and invited teams for Aravena’s own central exhibition titled “Reporting from the Front,” which will occupy all of the Biennale’s main venues, the Biennale announced the full list of participants in the 62 national pavilions, including 5 first-time participants: Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, the Seychelles, and Yemen.
These participants will be tasked with responding to Aravena's prompt to highlight "architectures that despite the scarcity of means intensify what is available instead of complaining about what is missing." The national pavilions will highlight the social, environmental and economic challenges prevalent in each of the participating countries, and the ways in which architecture all over the world has been used to alleviate these problems. Read on for the full list of participants, and don't forget to check out all of our Venice Biennale coverage here.
ALBANIA
“I Have Left You the Mountain”
Commissioners: Albanian Ministry of Culture. Curators: Simon Battisti, Leah Whitman-Salkin, Åbäke. Exhibitors: Etel Adnan, Pier Vittorio Aureli, Mourid Barghouti, Claire Fontaine, Yona Friedman, Anri Sala, Michael Taussig, Yanis Varoufakis, Ornela Vorpsi.
Site: Arsenale
ARGENTINA
experimentAR - Poéticas desde la frontera
Commissioners: Federico Gonzalez Perini. Curator: Atilio Pentimalli.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
ARMENIA
Independent Landscape
Commissioners: Ministry of Culture, (Vartan Karapetian).Curator: Sarhat Petrosyan.
Site: Chiesa di Santa Croce degli Armeni, Calle dei Armeni, San Marco 965
AUSTRALIA
The Pool – Architecture, Culture and Identity in Australia
Commissioners: Janet Holmes a Court AC. Curators: Amelia Holliday and Isabelle Toland (Aileen Sage Architects) with Michelle Tabet. Exhibitors: Conversations with Olympians Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe (Anna Funder and Christos Tsiolkas; musician Paul Kelly; environmentalist Tim Flannery; fashion designers Romance Was Born; and art curator Hetti Perkins).
Site: Giardini
AUSTRIA
Places for people
Commissioners/Curator: Elk Elke Delugan-Meissl with Liquid Frontiers. Exhibitors: Caramel architects, EOOS, the next ENTERprise architects.
Site: Giardini
BAHRAIN
Commissioners: Sh. Mai Al Khalifa. Curators: Anne Holtrop e Noura Al Sayeh.
Site: Arsenale
BELGIUM
BRAVOURE
Commissioners: Christoph Grafe, Director Flanders Architecture Institute.
Curator: bravoure architecten de vylder vinck taillieu - doorzon interieur architecten - filip dujardin.
Site: Giardini
BRAZIL
Commissioners: Luis Terepins, Bienal de São Paulo Foundation.Curator: Washington Fajardo.
Site: Giardini
CANADA
“EXTRACTION”
Commissioners: Catherine Crowston, Art Gallery of Alberta. Curator: Pierre Bélanger, OPSYS. Exhibitors: OPSYS / RVTR.
Site: Giardini
CHILE
Against the tide
Commissioners: Cristóbal Molina (National Council of Culture and the Arts of Chile). Curators: Juan Román, José Luis Uribe. Exhibitors: Felipe Aranda, Ximena Cáceres, Claudio Castillo, Ximena Céspedes, Gabriel Garrido, Carolina Guerra, Juan Francisco Inostroza, Yasna Monsalve, Felipe Muñoz, Daniel Prieto, Javier Rodríguez, Jonnattan Silva, Carolina Solís, Tanya Vera, Cesar Verdugo.
Site: Arsenale
CHINA
Daily Design, Daily Tao-Back to the ignored front
Commissioners: China Arts & Entertainment Group (CAEG).Curator: Jingyu Liang.
Exhibitors: Approach Architecture Studio, Drawing Architecture Studio (Han Li, Yan Hu), in+of architecture (Lu Wang), People’s Architecture Office (Zhe He, James Shen, Feng Zang), Run Atelier (Hao Wang, Man Ye), Qun Song, View Unlimited Lanscape Architecture Studio CUCD (Xie Xiaoying, Yan Tong, Haitao Huang, Qu Zhi), Wuyong (Ma Ke), Jingxiang Zhu (Unitinno+CUHK), Jing Zuo.
Site: Arsenale
CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA
Care for Architecture: Exemplum of the Slovak National Gallery or Asking Arche of Architecture to Dance
Commissioners: Monika Mitášová, Monika Palcová. Curators/Exhibitors: Benjamín Brádnanský, Petr Hájek, Vít Halada, Ján Studený, Marián Zervan (Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and University in Trnava).
Site: Giardini
COTE D’IVOIRE
Live differently
Commissioners: N’Guessan N’Dri Barthelemy. Curator: SOSSAH Francis. Exhibitors: Ministère de la construction et de l’urbanisme, Ministère de l’habitat et du logement social, Ministère de la culture et de la francophonie, Ordre des architectes, Ecole d’architecture d'Abidjan.
Site: Palazzo Bembo e Palazzo Mora
CROATIA
“We Need It-We do it”
Commissioners: Zlatko Hasanbegovic, PhD, Minister of culture; Ministry of Culture. Curator: Dinko Peracic. Exhibitors:Dinko Peracic, Slaven Tolj, Miranda Veljacic, Emina Višnic.
Site: Arsenale
DENMARK
Commissioners: Kent Martinussen, CEO, Danish Architecture Centre. Curators: Boris Brorman Jensen and Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. Exhibitors: 3XN; AART architects; Adept; AI; Anders Abraham & Christina Capetillo; Anders Peder Larsen; Andersen & Sigurdsson Architects; Arcgency; Arkitektfirmaet Merete Lind Mikkelsen; Arkitema Architects; BCVA Architecture; BIG; BO FROST architects; CEBRA; CF. Møller Architects;Christensen & Co architects; COBE; COLORCLOUDSTUDIO;DISSING+WEITLING architecture; Dorte Mandrup Architects; EFFEKT; ELKIÆR + EBBESKOV; Erik Brandt Dam architects; Erik Møller Architects; Force4; Frans Drewniak & Philip Rahm; Frederiksund Municipality; Friis & Moltke Architects Gottlieb Paludan Architects; Herzog de Meuron; JAJA architects; Jakob Knudsen; Jan Gehl; Jane Havshøj Architects; Jes Vagnby; JJW Architects; Johan Mottelson; Jonathan Meldgaard Houser; Junya Ishigami; Karlsson Arkitekter; KHR Arkitekter; Kim Loudrup; KRADS; Kristine Jensens Tegnestue; Lenschow & Pihlmann; LETH & GORI; LUMO Architects; Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects; Mathilde Petri Architects; Middelfart Municipality and Middelfart Wastewater Utility; Mikkelsen Architects; Møller & Grønborg; Nicolai Bo Andersen; NORD Architects Copenhagen; ONV Architects; POLYFORM; Powerhouse Company Copenhagen; Roskilde Municipality; RUBOW Arkitekter; schmidt hammer lassen architects; SLA Architects; SLETH Architects; SNE architects; Spektrum Arkitekter; Svendborg Architects; THIRD NATURE; Toposfære IVS; TRANSFORM; Tyra Lea Amdisen Dokkedahl; URBAN AGENCY; Vandkunsten Architects; Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects; WE Architecture; Wienberg Architects and Frier Architecture; Schønherr; Henning Larsen Architects.
Site: Giardini
EGYPT
ReframingBack/ImperativeConfrontations
Commissioners: Ahmad Hilal. Curator: Ministero della Cultura. Exhibitors: Eslam Zenbaey, Luca Borlenghi, Gabriele Secchi, Mostafa Salim.
Site: Giardini
ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA
The Baltic Pavilion
Commissioners Estonia: Raul Järg
Commissioner Lettonia: Janis Dripe ( Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia)
Commissioners Lithuania: Ona Lozuraité, Jonas Žukauskas. Curators: Karlis Berzinš, Jurga Daubaraite, Petras Išora, Ona Lozuraityte, Niklavs Paegle, Dagnija Smilga, Johan Tali, Laila Zarina, Jonas Žukauskas. Exhibitors: Architekturos Fondas, Eesti Arhitektuurikeskus.
Site: Palasport G.B. Gianquinto, Castello, Calle S. Biagio
FINLAND
From Border to Home - Housing Solutions for Asylum Seekers
Commissioners: Juulia Kauste Museum of Finnish Architecture. Curator: Marco Steinberg.
Exhibitors: a team; Lindberg & Erdman; Society Lab with the participation of alt Architects; D.A.T. PANGEA + QUATORZE; Helsinki Kasbah Combine; Satoshi OHTAKI.
Site: Giardini
FRANCE
Nouvelles du Front, Nouvelles Richesses
Commissioners: Institut Français, ministère de la culture et de la communication - direction générale des patrimoines.Curator: Frédéric Bonnet - OBRAS e AJAP 14 (PNG, Boidot & Robin, Studio 1984, Studiolada, Boris Bouchet, Claas architectes, R Architecture, NeM / Niney et Marca architectes).
Site: Giardini
GERMANY
Making Heimat. Germany, Arrival Country
Commissioners: Peter Cachola Schmal, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM). Curator: Oliver Elser, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM). Exhibitors: Something Fantastic.
Site: Giardini
GREAT BRITAIN
Home Economics
Commissioners: Vicky Richardson. Curators: Shumi Bose, Jack Self, Finn Williams. Exhibitors: ÅYR, Pier Vittorio Aureli e Martino Tattara (Dogma) con Maria S. Giudicci (Black Square), Julia King, Hesselbrand.
Site: Giardini
GREECE
“Challenging architecture on site of crisis”
Commissioners: General Secretary of Spatial Planning and Urban Environment, Ms Eirini Klampatsea. Curators: SADAS-PEA (the Greek Architects Association).Exhibitor: SADAS-PEA (the Greek Architects Association).
Site: Giardini
HUNGARY
æctivators. Locally active architecture
Commissioners: Júlia Fabényi. Curators: Gábor Fábián, Dénes Fajcsák. Exhibitor: Arkt.
Site: Giardini
IRAN
Commissioners: Ministry of Road and Urban Development Hamed Mazaherian. Exhibitors: Saba Engineering Events Association.
Site: Arsenale
IRELAND
Losing Myself
Commissioners: Niall MacLaughlin. Curator: Yeoryia Manolopoulou. Exhibitor: Níall McLaughlin (Níall McLaughlin Architects).
Site: Arsenale
ISRAEL
"A is for Architecture, B is for Biology"
Commissioners: Arad Turgeman. Curators/Exhibitors: Ido Bachelet, Bnaya Bauer, Arielle Blonder, Yael Eylat Van-Essenn, Noy Lazarovich.
Site: Giardini
ITALY
TAKING CARE – Progettare per il bene comune
Commissioners: Federica Galloni, Direttore Generale Arte e Architettura Contemporanee e Periferie Urbane, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo. Curators: Simone Sfriso, team Curatorsale Massimo Lepore, Simone Sfriso, Raul Pantaleo TAMassociati.
Site: Tese delle Vergini all’Arsenale
JAPAN
beyond - SHARING
Commissioners: The Japan Foundation. Curator: Yoshiyuki Yamana. Exhibitors: mnm (Mio Tsuneyama); ondesign (Osamu Nishida); Erika Nakagawa; Naruse Inokuma Architects (Jun Inokuma, Yuri Narus; Naka Architects’ Studio (Toshiharu Naka, Yuri Uno); Nousaku Architects (Fuminori Nousaku, Junpei Nousaku); miCo. (Mizuki Imamura, Isao Shinohara); Levi Architecture (Jun Nakagawa); Shingo Masuda+Katsuhisa Otsubo Architects (Shingo Masuda, Katsuhisa Otsubo); Koji Aoki Architects(Koji Aoki); 403architecture [dajiba] (Takuma Tsuji, Takeshi Hashimoto, Toru Yada); BUS (Satoru Ito, Kosuke Bando, Issei Suma); dot architects (Toshikatsu Ienari, Takeshi Shakushiro, Wataru Doi).
Site: Giardini
KAZAKHSTAN *** New Participant
Commissioners: Minister Muhamediuly Arystanbek.
KOREA
The FAR Game: Constraints Sparking Creativity
Commissioners: Arts Council Korea. Curators/Exhibitors: Sung Hong KIM, Eungee CINN, Keehyun AHN, Seungbum KIM, Isak CHUNG, Daeun JEONG.
Site: Giardini
KUWAIT
Between East and West, A Gulf
Commissioners: NCCAL. Curators: Hamed Bukhamseen e Ali Karimi.
Site: Arsenale
LUXEMBOURG
Tracing Transitions
Commissioners: LUCA Luxembourg Center for Architecture, Andrea Rumpf.
Curators/Exhibitors: Claude Ballini, Serge Ecker, Daniel Grünkranz, Panajota Panotopoulou.
Site: Ca’ de Duca, Corte del Duca Sforza, San Marco 3052
MACEDONIA
No Man’s land
Commissioners: Ivanka Apostolova. Curator: Stojan Pavleski. Exhibitors: Stojan Paveski, Ivan Simeonov, Gjorgji Radovanovic e Ljupcho Tasevski.
MEXICO
Dispiegamenti e Assemblaggi (Despliegues y ensambles)
Commissioners: María Margarita Segarra Lagunes.Curator: Pablo Landa Ruiloba.Exhibitors:David Mora Torres, Valeria Prieto, Mariano Arias-Diez, Alejandro Suárez Pareyón, César Augusto Guerrero Rodríguez, Mariana Ordoñez Grajales, Jorge Andrade Narváez, Paloma Vera, João Boto Matos Caeiro, Javier Toscano Guerrero, Isadora Hastings, Melba Denisse García, Álvaro Lara Cruz, Juan Carlos de la Garza Madero, Juan José Santibañez, Luz Yazmin Viramontes, Juan Alfonso Garduño, Jesús Roberto Nuñez, Rodolfo Samperio, Alfredo Hidalgo Rasmussen, Daniel Filloy Ring, Juan M. Casillas Pintor, José Carlos Lavalle Alonzo, Alexa Mabel Pacheco, Carlos Hagerman, Jesús Álvarez, Lara Becerra, Betsaid M. Moreno Corona, Jorge A. Rivera, Aarón Gutiérrez, Raúl Cárdenas Osuna.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
MONTENEGRO
Project Solana Ulcinj
Commissioners: Dijana Vucinic Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.
Curators: Bart Lootsma, Katharina Weinberger. Exhibitors: ecoLogicStudio, London; LOLA, Rotterdam; LAAC, Innsbruck.
Site: Palazzo Malipiero, San Marco 3079
NIGERIA *** New Participant
‘Diminished Capacity’
Commissioners: Nkanta George Ufot (Ministry of Information and Culture). Curator: Camilla Boemio. Exhibitor: Ola-Dele Kuku.
NEW ZEALAND
“Future Islands”
Commissioners: Tony Van Raat. Curator: Charles Walker. Exhibitors: Kathy Waghorn, Jessica Barter, Stephen Brookbanks, Maggie Carroll, Bruce Ferguson, Minka Ip, Jonathan Rennie, Rewi Thompson.
Site: Palazzo Bollani, Castello 3647
THE NETHERLANDS
BLUE: Architecture of Peacekeeping Missions
Commissioners: Het Nieuwe Instituut. Curator: Malkit Shoshan.
Site: Giardini
NORDIC COUNTRIES (FINLAND - NORWAY - SWEDEN)
In Therapy - Nordic Countries Face to Face
Commissioners: ArkDes, The Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design (Sweden).
Adjunct Commissioners: The Finnish Museum of Architecture (Finland) and Nasjonalmuseet (Norway). Curators: David Basulto, James Taylor-Foster.
Site: Giardini
PERÙ
"OUR AMAZON FRONTLINE"
Commissioners: José Orrego. Curators: Sandra Barclay e Jean Pierre Crousse.
Exhibitors: Ministero dell’Istruzione Peruviano, “Progetto Plan Selva” Capo Progetto Elizabeth Añaños e con Claudia Flores, Sebastian Cilloniz, Jose Luis Villanueva, Miguel Chavez, Gino Fernandez, Alvaro Echevarria, Alfonso Orbegoso, Luis Miguel Hadzich, Carlos Tamayo.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
PHILIPPINES *** New Participant
Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City
Commissioners: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Felipe M. de Leon.
Curator: Juan Paolo de la Cruz, Sudarshan Khadka Jr., Leandro Locsin (LVLP Partners).
Site: European Cultural Center - Palazzo Mora, Strada Nuova 3659
POLAND
“Fair Building”
Commissioners: Hanna Wróblewska. Curator: Dominika Janicka, in cooperation with Martyna Janicka and Michal Gdak.
Site: Giardini
PORTUGAL
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Where Alvaro meets Aldo
Commissioners: Carlos Moura-Carvalho. Curator: Nuno Grande e Roberto Cremascoli.
Exhibitor: Álvaro Siza Vieira.
Site: Campo di Marte, Giudecca (tra Calle Mason e Calle Michelangelo Buonarroti – vaporetto: Zitelle)
ROMANIA
SELFIE AUTOMATON
Commissioners: Attila Kim. Curator: Tiberiu Bucsa. Exhibitors: Tiberiu Bucsa, Orsolya Gal, Stathis Markopoulos, Adrian Arama, Oana Matei, Andrei Durloi.
Site: Giardini e Nuova Galleria dell'Istituto Romeno di Venezia Palazzo Correr, Campo Santa Fosca, Cannaregio 2214
RUSSIA
V.D.N.H.
Commissioners: Semen Mikhailovsky. Curator: Sergey Kuznetsov.
Site: Giardini
SERBIA
HEROIC: Free Shipping
Commissioners: Ivan Raskovic. Comitato Scientifico: Ljiljana Miletic Abramovic, Igor Maric, Aleksandar Bobic, Milan Ðuric, Vladimir Milenkovic, Vesna Cagic Miloševic, Maja Ciric.
Exhibitors: Stefan Vasic, Ana Šulkic e Igor Sjeverac.
Site: Giardini
SEYCHELLES *** New Participant
Commissioners: Benjamin Rose. Curator: Andres Ramirez.
SINGAPORE
At The ‘Home Front’
Commissioners: Jeffrey Ho, Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council. Curator: Wong Yunn Chii, Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
SLOVENIA
Home@Arsenale
Commissioners: Matevž Celik, Museum of Architecture and Design, MAO. Curators: Aljoša Dekleva e Tina Gregoric (dekleva gregoric architects).
Site: Arsenale
SPAIN
UNFINISHED
Commissioners: Iñaqui Carnicero + Carlos Quintans. Curator: Carnicero + Quintans.
Exhibitors: Contemporary Spanish Architecture.
Site: Giardini
SWITZERLAND
"Incidental Space”
Commissioners: Sandi Paucic e Marianne Burki, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia. Curator: Sandra Oehy. Exhibitor: Christian Kerez.
Site: Giardini
THAILAND
Class of 6.3
Commissioners: The Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture.
Curator: Teeranuj Wongwaisayawan. Exhibitors: Pitupong Chaowakul, Chatpong Chuenrudeemol, Jeravej Hongsakul, Kanika R’Kul, Jun Sekino Chutayaves Sinthuphan, Suriya Umpansiriratana, Twitee Vajrabhaya, Varudh Varavarn.
Site: Arsenale
TURKEY
Darzanà: Two Arsenals, One Vessel
Commissioners: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV). Curators: Feride Çiçekoglu, Mehmet Kütükçüoglu, Ertug Uçar. Exhibitors: Hüner Aldemir, Caner Bilgin, Hande Cigerli, Gökçen Erkiliç, Nazli Tümerdem, Yigit Yalgin.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Transformations: The Emirati National House
Commissioners: Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation. Curator: Yasser Elsheshtawy.
Site: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Architectural Imagination
Commissioners: Monica Ponce de Leon. Curators: Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon. Exhibitors: Marcelo López-Dinardi and V. Mitch McEwen, A(n) Office, Detroit, Michigan Kelly Bair and Kristy Balliet, BairBalliet, Chicago, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio, Greg Lynn, Greg Lynn FORM, Los Angeles, California Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, Atlanta, GeorgiaMarshall Brown, MARSHALL BROWN PROJECTS, Chicago, Illinois Hilary Sample and Michael Meredith, MOS Architects, New York, New York Florencia Pita and Jackilin Hah Bloom, Pita & Bloom, Los Angeles, California Albert Pope and Jesús Vassallo, Present Future, Houston, Texas Preston Scott Cohen, Preston Scott Cohen Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts Stan Allen, SAA/Stan Allen Architect, New York, New York Thom Moran, Ellie Abrons, Adam Fure, and Meredith Miller, T+E+A+M, Ann Arbor, Michigan Andrew Zago and Laura Bouwman, Zago Architecture, Los Angeles, California.
Site: Giardini
URUGUAY
Commissioner: Miguel Fascioli. Curator: Marcelo Danza
YEMEN *** New Participant
Beautiful Yemen
Commissioners: Mr. Ayed Ali Al-Shawafy, Undersecretary for Cultural relations, Ministry of Culture, Yemen.
Site: Arsenale
