Who is We?Who is We?

Het Nieuwe Instituut will present Who is We? at the Pavilion of the Netherlands at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, which will run from 22 May to 21 November 2021. As a response to the Biennale Architettura 2021 theme set by curator Hashim Sarkis, which is 'How will we live together?', Het Nieuwe Instituut asks a counter-question: 'Who is we?'. The team, led by curator Francien van Westrenen, argues that current social and ecological urgencies demand that architects and urbanists regard 'we' as a more pluralised pronoun that encompasses all humans and more-than-humans such as soil, plants and animals. The knowledge, values, and methodologies necessary for this transformation have been developed throughout history but are largely marginalised by the architectural canon.

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning that the presentation Who is We? will not be on view at the Dutch pavilion until 2021. However, the exhibition's parallel public programme Values for Survival, curated by Professor Caroline Nevejan at the invitation of Het Nieuwe Instituut, is currently in full swing. The first results of this research programme - Cahier 1 and an Exploratorium - will be presented in Amsterdam and Venice between 12 and 4pm on 14 July 2020.

The opening of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia has been postponed until 22 May 2021. This difficult but commendable decision was made by the Biennale foundation because of the Covid-19 pandemic and its implications for the production, construction, and opening of the exhibition. The Biennale will run until 21 November 2021.