The 2022 Biennale of FRAC in the Centre-Val De Loire Region, France, is exhibiting the work of 55 women for its third edition entitled Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy. The fair showcases pieces from the Center Pompidou and the Cité de l'architecture et du Patrimoine collection and brings special guests such as architect Anna Heringer and Journalist and Director Rokhaya Diallo. From September 2022 to January 1st, 2023, female artists, architects, and politicians will gather to discuss and create a new definition of inclusive and plural democracy in the city, architecture, design, and art.
Dedicated to the exclusive invitation of women, the 2022 Biennale of FRAC is intended as a festival geared towards a new reality founded on equality, in which various social, militant, and artistic readings cohabitate to instill a new kind of common sense. The Biennale aims to cultivate the ability for artworks to inhabit the city and combine with everyday life practices.
Which cities and urban programs are devised by and for women? How can their productions emerge from their invisibility? What interpretation of the history of the arts can be seen through the lens of feminism? Several questions lie in the concepts of "feminist democracy" developed in 4 main landscapes along the Biennale: The Utopia of territories, The World built by women, The Third Feminism, and Subversive Tenderness.
The Utopia of Territories sketches out new urban practices within the city, heritage, squares, and loci of sociability and leisure activities. With Architectural pieces such as a microhouse, a dome, a swing, and a hub, the artists inscribe the geography of gender where women have always maintained complex relationships with the space and dynamics around. This selection includes the work of Architects Sophie Berthelier - Véronique Descharrières, Agence d'architecture Bientôt, Feminist architecture collaborative, and María Mallo Zurdo.
In parallel, the exhibition The World Built by Women put together three French collections (Centre Pompidou, Cité de l'architecture et du Patrimoine, and Frac Centre-Val de Loire) to explore the plurality of the productions created by women architects, from social housing to memorial sites. Two more exhibitions, The Third Feminism, and Subversive Tenderness bring to the table activist and leaders such as Collectif Offense and the non-binary artist Habibitch to discuss interpretations of citizenship and the emancipation of women has been posed through political, social, and anti-colonial struggles.
Internationally recognized, the Frac Centre–Val de Loire is one of the world's three most extensive experimental architecture collections, along with the MoMA, New York, and the Centre Pompidou. Since 1991, it has brought together contemporary art and experimental architecture comprising 20,000 works, including 1,000 architectural models, 17,000 drawings, and1,000 photographs. The FRAC collection represents the work of around 500 architects and artists, constituting a unique heritage.
The 2022 Biennale of FRAC in the Centre-Val De Loire Region is one of a series of events worldwide that curate, bring, and display the best in architecture, art, and design, such as the TAB -Tallinn Architecture Biennial 2022 and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022. For more events, explore the Architecture Events to Pay Attention to in 2022 and the Architectural Events list: September's Packed List of 29 International Happenings.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Women in Architecture presented by Sky-Frame.
Sky-Frame is characterized by its empathic ability to take on different perspectives and points of view. We are interested in people and their visions, whether in architecture or in a social context. We deeply care about creating living spaces and in doing so we also question the role of women in architecture. From the arts to the sciences, women shape our society. We want to shed more light on this role, increase the visibility of Women in Architecture and empower/encourage them to realize their full potential.
Initiated by Sky-Frame, the “Women in Architecture” documentary is an impulse for inspiration, discussion, and reflection. The film's release is on 3 November 2022.
