British Council launches open call for 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale

Proposals for the British pavilion should respond to the theme, Freespace, chosen by Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, the artistic directors of next year’s event

The British Council has launched an open call for proposals for the British pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. The 16th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 26 May to 25 November 2018. Artistic directors Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell of the Dublin-based practice Grafton Architects announced the theme, Freespace, last month, calling for a focus on ‘generosity, thoughtfulness and a desire to engage’. They have invited all participants to ‘reveal the diversity, specificity and continuity in architecture based on people, place, time, history, to sustain the culture and relevance of architecture on this dynamic planet’.

The British Council, which commissions the British pavilion, is seeking expressions of interest in the form of short concept proposals for the curatorial approach and visual language of the exhibition.

Sarah Mann, the British Council’s director of architecture, design and fashion and the pavilion’s commissioner, said: ‘Next year’s Biennale theme looks at the fundamental role of architecture, celebrating its capacity for generosity and humanity, exploring its relationship to public and private. We want the British pavilion exhibition to provide an experience of the uplifting power of architecture. We are asking for proposals which challenge conventional exhibition formats, encourage participation and offer a new experience of contemporary British architecture, drawing on its ability to demonstrate meaningful dialogues between people and place.’

The deadline for initial expressions of interest is 7 August 2017 and a fully developed concept must be entered by 12 September 2017. Click here for the full details and selection criteria