Faculty from the McEwen School of Architecture in Sudbury will be part of a team of architects representing Canada at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Held biennially in Venice, Italy, the Venice Architecture Biennale is the most prestigious exhibition in contemporary architecture. Founded in 1980, the initiative welcomes countries from around the globe to showcase their designs in locations around the city. More than 300,000 visitors are expected to participate in the 2018 edition, to be held May 26 to Nov. 25, 2018.
This year, the Canadian contingent will be represented by the Indigenous design project UNCEDED, led by renowned Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal and co-curated by Gerald McMaster, curator, author, and professor of Indigenous Visual Culture and Critical Curatorial Studies at OCAD University, and David Fortin, an architect, the incoming director of the McEwen School of Architecture, and a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Indigenous Task Force.
The project was selected by a national juried competition.
Joining them is a decorated group of Indigenous architects from across North America, including Patrick Stewart, chair of the Indigenous Task Force and associate professor at the McEwen School of Architecture, and Eladia Smoke, an architect and a master lecturer at the McEwen School of Architecture, as well as the first female First Nations architect in Manitoba and Ontario.
“There has been a lot of interest in Indigenous topics in Canada following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” Fortin said in a release.
“What is unique about UNCEDED is that it celebrates the role of Indigenous architects and designers in leading this discussion and we are honoured that the importance of the Indigenous voice has been acknowledged.”
UNCEDED will emphasize and celebrate the work of Indigenous architects and designers throughout Turtle Island (North America). It is grounded in the legacy of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report.
