Ministria e Ekonomisë, Kulturës dhe Inovacionit

OPEN CALL FOR EXHIBITION PROPOSALS

for the Albanian Pavilion

at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale

May 26– November 20, 2016

 

In the framework of the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale to be held in Venice, Italy, the Albanian Ministry of Culture, as the commissioner of the Albanian Pavilion, is seeking expressions of interest for project proposals for the exhibition at the Albanian Pavilion, which will be opened to the public on May 26 until November 27, 2016.

La Biennale de Venezia is the world’s most important cultural festival incorporating major international exhibitions on art, film, music, theatre and architecture. The architecture festival attracts a global audience of professionals, critics and the public to visit and discuss the exhibitions. 

          The Albanian Pavilion exhibition represents an important opportunity to reflect on Albanian contemporary architecture and is a means to contribute to promotion and international distribution of its values.

 

The theme of the Biennale is “REPORTING FROM THE FRONT”

The theme of the 15th Biennale “Reporting from the Front”, invites participating countries to present through architects, artists and other representatives of civil society, their approach to the complexity of issues that today’s architecture is facing.

The Biennale aims to be the arena of all the voices which dare to solve the complexity of the problems architecture is facing (a confrontation of architecture as a benefit for the individuals and architecture as public domain) and not simply criticize or analyse the current situation. The visitors should see architecture stories of success from the past, present and what changes will it makes to win those battles and expand those frontiers.

The theme of the 15th Biennale is selected by the Curator, Chilean architect, Alejandro Aravena, who explains his project as follows:

“There are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life. More and more people in the planet are in search for a decent place to live and the conditions to achieve it are becoming tougher and tougher by the hour. Any attempt to go beyond business as usual encounters huge resistance in the inertia of reality and any effort to tackle relevant issues has to overcome the increasing complexity of the world”.

 

The Ministry of Culture invites project ideas and  proposals which should be inspired by an acute observation of the contemporary Albanian architecture and Albanian society, with a special focus on cases where architecture makes the difference, and an accurate observation of the means by which these will be communicated to the audience.

 

The profile of the candidates:

-We are looking for a multidisciplinary exhibition team (composed of architect(s), project manager, artists, graphic designer(s), critics etc, and/or architecture studios, which :

– Demonstrate to have knowledge about Albanian architecture

– Have national and /or international experience in the field of architecture, landscape and city planning which will be proven by respective portfolios.

This call is open to any nationality.

 

 

The candidate(s) should be able to:

– Conduct research and develop an integrated curatorial design project idea accompanied by a coherent curatorial narrative

– Develop an integrated curatorial project idea for the Albanian Pavilion, along with the producing and/or sourcing the exhibition content such as: photography, installations, written materials for exhibition panels and any other related texts.

– To create a cultural programme composed by cultural side events which will be organized during the days the exhibition will be opened for the public

-To implement and manage the project successfully.

 

Selection will be done in two phases:

Phase 1: In this stage the best project proposals will be selected. Deadline:  October 16, 2015.

The Jury will select 3 (three) project proposals which will be qualified for the second phase.

The jury will announce the best three projects on October 23, 2015.

 

Phase 2: The three selected teams will be invited to work up a fully detailed exhibition concept which will be presented to the Jury.

These detailed concepts should be submitted by the latest 12.00 PM on November 13, 2015. 

The Jury will announce the criteria for the detailed project proposal immediately after the announcement of the shortlist of three teams.

The announcement of the winning project: November 20, 2015.

 

The selection criteria:

The project ideas and the detailed project proposals will be evaluated by an international Jury composed of 5 members. The evaluation of the Jury will judge proposals on the basis of:

– Clarity of the project proposal

– Imaginative quality of the concept

– Potential of the project idea to communicate with the public

– Lucidity of the theme and the potential for making it communicable, tangible and visible to the audience.

– Artistic and visual strength of the project proposal and its capacity to be translated into a strong visual language and landscape

– Strength of the team/studio to reflect in a broad and deep sense on the given theme and to bring ways to add to the knowledge

– Capacity and experience of communicating architecture to the critics and the public alike, and of developing new audiences for architecture.

 

The application should include (Phase 1):

– The application form (download it Here)

– A clearly articulated summary on how the project will relate to the theme “Reporting from the Front” (not more than 1000 words)

– Method of investigation and anticipated findings, and how this will come into existence by means of reflection and creation

– Image(s) which illustrate the exhibition proposal, setting, etc.

– Portfolios of previous works of the team/studio

– CV’s of the members of the team and its leader (not more than one page)

Candidates are free to choose whichever means and forms of introducing their project proposals. They are kindly invited to follow the guidelines provided by the General Curator of the Biennale which can be found at http://www.labiennale.org

 

Details on the Albanian Pavilion:

The Albanian Pavilion will be situated in “Arsenale” on a 100 m2 space. You will find the plan and relevant photos here

 

 

 

 

Submission of application:

The complete application should be:

– Prepared in two languages: Albanian and English

– Sent by mail (printed and in digital form) to:

THE TECHINAL SECRETARIAT OF THE BIENALE 2016

At the following address:

Ministry of Culture, Rruga “Aleksander Moisiu”, nr. 76, ish Kinostudio “Shqiperia e Re”, Tirana, Albania

– Sent electronically to the e-mail address: bienale2016@kultura.gov.al

 

Applications must be submitted NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 16, 2015, 24.00 HRS (Phase 1) {:}