To successfully host a public exhibition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic not only presents a lot of logistic issues but can be extremely tricky and challenging. Below is the list of 8 architecture exhibitions scheduled for 2020 that we have missed:
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the world, there is a growing concern to take precautions in every possible way to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus. It has resulted in a number of prominent architecture and design events and exhibitions across the world being postponed or canceled. To successfully host a public exhibition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic not only presents a lot of logistic issues but can be extremely tricky and challenging.
Below is the list of 8 architecture exhibitions scheduled for 2020 that we have missed:
1) Venice Architecture Biennale
The 17th International Architecture Exhibition, titled ‘How we will live together?’ curated by a Lebanese architect and educator Hashim Sarkis, originally scheduled for 2020 has now been postponed to 2021 – opening on 22nd May and closing on 21st November. The theme will explore the ways in which we can live together peacefully and meaningfully amidst political unrest, economic inequalities, and changing social patterns. In response to the current situation, the curator states that “We are in some ways fortunate because we are well equipped to absorb the immediate and longer-term implications of the crisis in the Biennale Architettura 2021. The theme does also provide us with the possibility to respond to the pandemic in its immediacy.”
2) CANactions International Architecture Festival
It is the largest architectural event in Ukraine that runs annually since 2008. It was originally scheduled to take place on 15th and 16th May 2020 and is now postponed to 2021. Over the course of two days, the festival hosts various talks, discussions, film screenings, exhibitions, urban walks, and masterclasses. For the 12th edition, the festival will focus on exploring the idea of ‘Hromada’ – (Ukrainian name for the community) as a social and spatial phenomenon.
3) Copenhagen Architecture Festival
The fifth Copenhagen Architecture festival ©Rasmus Hjortshøj and Danish Architecture Center
It is Scandinavia’s largest annual architecture festival which was scheduled to take place from 23rd April to 3rd May. It was going to run in the cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense under the title ‘The Welfare City in Transition’. It has various public programs like guided tours, film screenings, debates, seminars, workshops, and exhibitions. Due to the current pandemic situation, it is now going to take place online from 1st October to 11th October to run parts of its program. While some of the programs have already started running online since 1st April.
4) London Festival of Architecture
It is the world’s largest annual architecture festival that celebrates London as the global hub for architecture. A digital version of the event took place online as LFA Digital from 1st June to 30th June with the theme as ‘Power’. The public events program has however been postponed to take place later in the year. The vast and diverse program of events are delivered by architecture and design practices, practitioners, cultural and academic institutions, artists, independent organizations, and many others.
5) Habitat Expo
A three-day exhibition of architecture, interior, and design held in Mexico City that showcases Mexico’s design industry. Originally it was scheduled to take place from 28th to 30th May, the event is now postponed to 5-7 November. More than 300 exhibitors present their products and expertise to a diverse mix of 17,000+ visitors.
6) Z-Axis – Charles Correa Foundation
The Z-Axis (Fourth edition) is a biennial conference initiated by the Charles Correa Foundation. It is scheduled to have a series of lectures in September by an eminent panel of national and international speakers, followed by a design challenge in October-November. The event aims to generate a meaningful conversation around architecture and the city. Under this year’s theme ‘You and Your Neighbourhood’, the lectures and discussions will aim at seeing urbanism through four distinct scales and thresholds which define our public spaces – city, commons, neighborhood, and the doorstep and how they relate with each other.
7) M+ Matters: Archigram Cities
In 2018, the Archigram Archive entered the collections of M+, a museum of visual culture in Hong Kong which is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2021. To mark this, M+ organized a series of events for February 2020 which is now postponed for a later date. Titled ‘Archigram Cities’, the event aims for a series of encounters between the members of the Archigram and architects, students, scholars, and the wider public. Archigram is an Avant-garde group of the 1960s that drew inspiration from technology to imagine a new reality through their experimental and futuristic projects.
8) AIA Conference of Architecture
The American Institute of Architects has canceled their annual conference which was scheduled to take place from 14th to 16th May in Los Angeles due to the pandemic. With the event being canceled, the institution said that they will now be focusing on other ways to address the issues caused by the pandemic.
