The colors of the 18. Architecture Biennale are the colors of Africa. The title chosen by curator Lesley Lokko, The Laboratory of the Future, shines the spotlight on the different voices of Africa, silent or muted voices that will try not to correct but to complete some pages of the history of Architecture. The motto coined by Lokko, “Decolonization and Decarbonization”, runs through the different proposals of the architect, professor and writer of Nigerian origins, while the 89 participants become “practitioners” in her terminology, because “it is our contention that the rich, complex conditions of both Africa and a rapidly hybridising world call for a different and broader understanding of the term ‘architect’.” Lesley Lokko also opens for the first time an extension of Biennale College which will offer fifty students, graduates, academics and emerging professionals an educational program tutored by fifteen international teachers. Carnival, a cycle of meetings, conferences, round tables, films and performances, completes this long-awaited Laboratory of the Future. In addition to showcasing the works of the main exhibition, the event also embraces the ideas and projects of 63 national participations and 9 collateral events. As with previous years, the Venice News guide (TheBAG – Biennale Architettura Guide) will accompany visitors by featuring interviews with the key figures of this Biennale edition, providing descriptions of each project and participation, offering maps of the Giardini, the Arsenale, and Venice, and including a section dedicated to the numerous “not only Biennale” exhibitions taking place in Venice throughout the six-month duration of the event. The vernissage days, which are scheduled for May 17th, 18th, and 19th, mark the beginning of this exciting event.

Featured image: Accra, Festus Jackson-Davis # 01