Theme for Venice architecture biennale announced

(Luke Hayes)

This fall's architecture biennale in Venice, directed by Kazuyo Sejima of Japanese architect practice SANAA, will take place under the motto of 'People meet in Architecture.'

Architects from 54 countries will gather for the 12th edition of the biennale, running from August 29 to November 21, that also covers the fields of art, cinema, dance and music.

Explaining her concept for the event, Sejima stated: "The idea is to help people relate to architecture, help architecture relate to people and help people relate to themselves."

And she continued: "There will be independent spaces for each architect or each theme, which means that the participants will be their own curators. In this way contributors will design their own space and make presentations that consider the experience of the visitor both physically and conceptually. It will be a series of spaces rather than a series of objects."

Sejima also said that the exhibition would not only contain the work of architects but also of all other kinds of artists and creatives in order to present architectural challenges as part of a broader context.

Organizers of the biennale added that in addition to a new curator, there will be two more novelties: the so-called Architecture Saturdays will host a series of talks, performances and discussions with architects, critics and other personalities from the world of Italian and international architecture, and there will be greater involvement of the universities.

The event will take place at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various other venues in Venice.

http://www.labiennale.org